Visiting with my friend, Kathy Ireland

Today was a fun day! I got a call to visit my friend Kathy Ireland at her booksigning for her new book at Borders, Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanity. Aside from wanting to see Kathy again, her new book is a must read. No matter how old your children are - you're sure to be a busy mom! Although Kathy signed my copy of her book saying I was "a powerful inspiration," she's more than that to me. Kathy is an amazing woman.

She communicates with moms every day: online, at the grocery store, at church, at speaking engagements, and on her company website. She is grateful that her conversations don't center around beauty tips or requests for autographs or advice on how to dress. Rather, she has the honor of hearing from real women who struggle with balancing the responsibilities of marriage, raising children, managing a household or career or both, and finding any time left to take care of themselves.

As the involved mom of three very active children, the supportive wife of an emergency room doctor, and a dynamic businesswoman, Kathy knows of these struggles firsthand. She credits her strong faith in God and her parents' love and support for any success she has today and dedicates her days to finding the solutions that can make life easier for busy moms in all phases of life. As she tackles the tough financial concerns families feel today and many other issues, Kathy offers empathy and encouragement. She shares stories from her own life and wisdom she has gained through her years from teenager with a paper route to successful supermodel to mom to entrepreneur with a dream for big business big business which was realized by building what Forbes now calls the "Billion Dollar Brand."

Starting an eBay Business For Dummies on a Playaway audiobook?

I opened a box from my publisher the other day to find the latest iteration of one of my books, it's on a Playaway(?). I went to the website and checked it out:

"Playaway is the newest format of audio, combining a wide variety of content with an easy-to-use player all in one small unit. When you receive your Playaway, all you have to do is press play to start listening immediately – there is no need for a separate player, and it comes with earbuds and a battery to make it play.

Playaway is the most simple and immediate way to enjoy music and audiobooks. Its portability allows users to enjoy their favorite authors and titles on-the-go, whenever and wherever. "

Well son of a gun, sounds interesting, so I emailed the manufacturer for more info. They didn't respond. I guess I'm not a big enough name. Their site featured a trade-in program, which makes these audiobooks pretty green.

Amazon sells them too: Starting an E-Bay Business for Dummies (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) and it seems they have a co-author attached to it. After some studying (since I've never heard of the co-author) it seems the person listed "reads" the book. What the hey? I've checked him out - he's big in the voice over industry, so I guess that makes his reading my words equally important as my writing the book.

Online Entrepreneurship Best Practices

I put a lot of work into my new book to help anyone who wants to make money online. Below is the information from my publisher:

“The Marsha Collier, eBay for Dummies books are phenomenal.You cannot find more focused books than those from Marsha.“
-John Lawson, CEO 3rd Power Outlet (3rdPO.com), Commerce Blogger (ColderICE.com), eBay Platinum Powerseller

“Following the steps that Marsha's books outline can help you grow your business with realistic expectations and a true
understanding of the steps involved. We are living proof!”
-Clarissa Parashar, eBay user perpetual-vogue

In today’s economy more and more people are beginning to supplement their income by selling on eBay® and nobody knows more about starting an eBay business than Marsha Collier, the undisputed queen of eBay experts. In her new title, eBay® Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (February 2009) she lays out a simple plan to help people become eBay® entrepreneurs.

This all-in-one guide includes nine handy minibooks that cover:

• •eBay Basics
• Essential Tools
• Selling Like a Pro
• Sourcing Merchandise
• Presenting Your Items
• Promoting Your Goods
• Storing and Shipping
• Power Selling
• Office and Legal

Overall, Collier shows you how to:

• Set up your business, find and manage inventory, and run your business like a pro
• Equip yourself with the tools that count—eBay’s search engine, online sources of information, the PayPal system, and eBay’s management tools
• Source merchandise and learn valuable strategies for managing and maximizing sales
• Set up the optimal eBay photo studio and develop and market your eBay Web site
• Learn the ins and outs of online retailing and what it takes to buy and sell online safely and easily
• Find deals on the computer equipment you need
• Promote, market, and show off your goods, all the while keeping your business legal

Use the link below to buy at discount!
eBay Business All-in-OneFor Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))
Published by John Wiley & Sons
Publication date: February 2009
Retail $29.99; Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-470-38536-4

Thank you, Las Vegas eBay fans!

I'm in Las Vegas for CES, staying with my dear friend Patti "Louise" Ruby (of eBay fame). We visited a Target store in hopes of my scoring a small hoard of their exclusive edition of my book, "Making Money on eBay For Dummies" (to sign and sell on eBay).

In this entire display bin we couldn't find a one! Patti thinks it's because they were the most popular. I say it's because another savvy eBay seller beat me to it. Thank you, Las Vegas.

Holiday Gifts: Regifting and Reselling on eBay

Think twice before you stuff that unneeded gift into the back of your closet this holiday season: it could translate into cash, or become the perfect present for someone else.

With financial concerns weighing on Americans’ minds this holiday season, consumers are becoming more resourceful than ever. To cope, they are learning how to manage unwanted gifts. Over half (54%) of U.S. adults who have resold gifts online plan to do so this year, a 10 percent increase from last year (45%) according to new research released today by eBay conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive®.

Of U.S. adults who receive gifts during the holidays, more than four in five (83%) receive unwanted items and almost half (46%) of those adults resell or re-gift, that is, give the unwanted gift to someone else as a gift. Additionally, nearly two-thirds (64%) of adults feel that re-gifting or reselling gifts is more socially acceptable now than it was several years ago.

“We’re seeing the trend in re-gifting and reselling unwanted presents becoming more commonplace in this economic climate,” said Marsha Collier, author of “Santa Shops on eBay” and “eBay for Dummies.” “For those seeking to make the best of an unwanted gift and maybe even start a small business, eBay is a great place to sell items and make some extra money; it’s also a destination for amazing deals for everyone on your holiday list.”

According to the survey, the most popular items adults would re-gift include wine, champagne or spirits (21%); trinkets or collectibles (21%); beauty or bath products (21%); DVDs, CDs or books (16%); electronics/appliances (14%); and the infamous fruitcake (14%). The most popular items adults resell online include personal electronics (12%); DVDs, CDs or books (11%); home technology (10%); event tickets (10%); trinkets or collectibles (8%); and sporting or fitness equipment (6%).

Trends in Re-gifting and Reselling:

• Re-gifting in the Air: three in five adults said they have received an item that they believe someone re-gifted.

• Green is Good: nearly three in four (73%) adults view re-gifting or reselling as a form of recycling, up from 69 percent last year.

• The End Justifies the Means: more than one-third (37%) of adults who have resold gifts would feel less guilty about reselling a gift if a portion of the profit benefited a charity.

• Know Your Recipient: Adults who have re-gifted listed these as the top reasons for doing so:

• 68 percent said the item was a better match for someone else
• 66 percent said they didn’t think they would use the item
• 61 percent said it wasn’t their taste

• Re-entrepreneurs Emerge: 30 percent of adults said they would rather receive a gift that they could re-gift or resell than not receive a gift at all.

About the Survey
This re-gifting survey was conducted online for eBay by Harris Interactive between November 11 and November 13, 2008 among 2,033 U.S. adults age 18 and older, of whom 1,013 have re-gifted and 210 have resold gifts online. These online surveys are not based on probability samples and therefore no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.