Edge Out the Competition: My Top 5 Sites for eBay News and Why I Read Them Daily
Edge Out the Competition: My Top 5 Sites for eBay News and Why I Read Them Daily
You know things this year have been moving rapidly. Changes on eBay, the economy and the ecommerce marketplace have been moving in rapid fire succession and sometimes it is hard to keep up. As a business owner and entrepreneur you MUST try to keep up with the latest news and movements in the market.
Many of you read my ColderICE .com blog, but I am NOT a news source. What I do at ColderICE.com is simply give you what I found elsewhere or what ever crazy topic is in my twisted mental at the time, LOL. So where should you and I go to get tips that will keep us ahead of the competition? That is the question I ask myself daily!
What I did is went back to the “Morning Papers and Coffee”, what is that you ask? Well, for those of you not yet on Twitter.com I would suggest you sign up (it is totally FREE). On most business days, Monday – Friday, I will post some of the more interesting blogs, news stories, and ecommerce related posts that I have come across in the last 24 hours. I post them on my Twitter feed which is available to you FREE at www.Twitter.com/ColderICE.
So what I did this weekend is combed through the last few weeks of the Morning Papers and Coffee links and found out which news sources had the MOST reportable and informative news stories for eBay sellers. The results of the top 5 sites for eBay seller news is below:
#1) TameBay (www.TameBay.com)
TameBay is owned and written by Chris Dawson and Sue Bailey, two British PowerSellers. Between us we have been trading on eBay for nearly two decades, and have more than 50,000 positive feedback comments (and just 2 negs!).
Chris and Sue met on eBay UK’s PowerSeller forum longer ago than either of them like to admit. By October 2006, both had become frustrated with eBay’s inability to keep their users informed of new features on the site, with the impenetrability of eBay’s Help pages, and with the lack of a UK- and Europe-centered news site for all things ecommercial. In a moment between classes at eBay University, Dan Wilson said what were to be fatal words: “you need a blog”. TameBay is the result.
Why I like it?
How in the world two UK eBayers get the scoop on US eBay reports amazes me. This is a testament to the genuine care and concern Chris and Sue have about their eBay endeavors. So they are not only keeping tabs on what is going on in the UK, but they have “hawk eyes” in the US eBay goings on as well. These guys are the 007’s of the eBay world of news and happenings.
Things that happen on eBay UK can somewhat shape changes in the US and that gives ME an edge on the competition.
#2) eBay Strategies Blog (ebaystrategies.blogs.com)
Scot Wingo’s eBay Blog In addition to discussing eBay strategies, Scot will provide his take on the latest eBay related news. As President and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, Scot Wingo leads the company in its mission to provide retailers and manufacturers with the tools and services they need to successfully utilize consumer marketplaces as a sales channel. Prior to launching ChannelAdvisor, Wingo played a role as the General Manager of GoTo Auctions, CEO and co-founder of AuctionRover.com and CEO and co-founder of Stingray Software.
Why I like it?
There are several reasons to like this blog, but the #1 reason this blog is important is that Scot has information from THOUSANDS of eBay sellers to look at when he makes his comments or thoughts. It is one thing for me and you to sit in our singular businesses and make assumptions on trends at eBay. But it is an entirely different view point when you get to sit above the data of thousands of eBay sellers and watch trending in that data. What Scot may say, might not be what you and I see today. But ultimately, the numbers don’t lie and that means what he sees today could be what you and I see tomorrow! And that my friends gives us an edge on the competition.
#3) My Blog Utopia (http://rksmythe.blogspot.com)
Written by Randy Smythe on his About Me page:
I write about ecommerce from the perspective of the online seller. I do tend to concentrate on the top two marketplaces, eBay and Amazon, but I’ll write about anything I find of interest in the ecommerce business. I also, consult for companies like (Amazon, BuyBak, Riders Discount, Reuters) and advise analysts from major brokerages and investment banks. I do not own
any shares in either eBay or Amazon.
Why I like it?
When you come up in this eBay business world, back when I started, there are not many people that you could actually find to mentor you in the world of eBay. The book that changed my world and how I looked at my eBay business was Scot Wingo’s eBay Strategies book. In that book Randy Smythe was heavily featured as one of the top, if not the top, eBay sellers during that time. I immediately connected with the philosophy contained in that book by both the author and the featured sellers. To think that I communicate one on one with both Scot and Randy today was absolutely UNTHINKABLE back then. I am amazed that they even talk to lil ‘ol me!
But what Randy has to say and what his perspectives are on both eBay and Amazon selling is vitally important and will most defiantly be and edge on the competition!
#4) AuctionBytes News (http://www.auctionbytes.com)
Steiner Associates LLC launched AuctionBytes in 1999 and is the leading publisher and number one source of news for ecommerce and the online-auction industry. AuctionBytes publishes email newsletters and the AuctionBytes Web site, which provides resources for online auction buyers and sellers, including “Cool Tools” and Discussion Forums. AuctionBytes publishers David and Ina Steiner are frequently quoted by major news organizations about eBay, online trading and Internet fraud including such publications as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Smart Money Magazine, and Fortune Small Business.
The AuctionBytes Web site is a portal to the world of ecommerce and online auctions. New features are added to the site as the industry changes.
Why I like it?
Arguably this is where is ALL began. Long before others were blogging about eBay….NO scratch that, Ina Steiner was blogging BEFORE blogging was even “cool”! She was doing this in email newsletters first and then with blogs and video clips. She is like the Dr J. of eBay blogs, she was the first one to dunk 
While many come and go, AuctionBytes have stood the test of time, controversy and scrutiny and they have been a rock for the eBay seller for nearly 10 years. That kind of edge, experience and longevity makes Ina Steiner the Walter Cronkite of eBay reporting. Hate it or love it, none of this would even be possible if not for the efforts of Ina making eBay reporting a legitimate endeavor. THANK YOU INA!
#5) Skip McGrath eBay Power Seller’s Amazon Blog (http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/AVPPJONZYHJAY/ref=cm_blog_blog)
Who is Skip McGrath?
Here are my credentials:
* eBay Gold Power Seller since 1999
* Contributing editor to eBay Radio
* Only information seller allowed to exhibit at eBay Live
* My books are used in community college adult education classes
* Publish the largest newsletter for professional eBay sellers
* Invited to teach consignment selling by eBay
* Author of seven books about eBay and web marketing
Why I like it?
Now I have never met the guy, or maybe I have and don’t know it since I do go to several eBay conferences annually, but Skip McGrath has been in the eBay “game” along time. He sells books, tapes, coaching, sourcing blah blah blah…I can go on and on about where you can find Skip on the net. I have not ventured into all the systems and methods that this one man has but together. However, I was searching the book shelves for a good eBay book one day and came across this fat ass book called “Titanium eBay” by Skip McGrath.
I picked it up that book and took it home. I found it both fascination and confirming, because many of the strategies and techniques that I was currently doing or were planning on implementing were in the book! And on top of that, he had fleshed out many plans and strategies I never though of. To this day, I still use that book as a sort of reference material that still works even though many things have changed on eBay.
That was enough for me to sta
rt following the comments and insight of an eBay seller that knows how to eBay…Skip McGrath is not just writing about it, he does eBay everyday and in everyway. Skip has a way with words and makes complex strategies accessible to the lay seller, both large and small, and I simply love that. So you get the meat on this link, without all the fluff. Check it out, cause this will give you an edge on the competition!
The folks over at Pimp My News are such cool peeps! After I made that 
