eBay Ad Magic -How To Create eBay Listings To Sell Anything

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What You Should Save
Your collection should encompass a broad range of media including newspapers, magazines, direct mail packages, magalogs* postcards, brochures, inserts, order forms, and anything else that looks interesting. Look for both older and new material as both have value in a swipe file.

Magalogs are magazine-like direct mail pieces. They've become a huge force in the direct marketing industry. If you've ever subscribed to specialty newsletters, bought expensive courses via mail order... or been into the alternative health scene to any degree ­ chances are you've seen this form of sales tool. Magalogs are truly compelling pieces. They're well-written (often by the best-paid copywriters alive like Clayton Makepeace and Gary Bencivenga) full-color glossy productions that are difficult to ignore. At first glance, you think you're looking at a visually appetizing magazine, complete with smiling faces and compelling headlines. By the time the reader discovers the product being offered, they're already hooked. That's what makes the magalog such a highlyeffective direct response tool. All you need to do is begin collecting bits and pieces of printed advertising materials. That's it. Start saving any advertising that meets the criteria you're about to discover, or anything that jumps out at you for
any reason at all. For example, I once received a miniature water bottle with a sales letter attached. It was different enough that I immediately put aside for my swipe file. By the way, the purpose of the water bottle was to solicit tap water samples which were then to be left in a mailbox on a specific day. The marketer would then purportedly pick up the samples and analyze the water. I'm assuming that virtually every sample that was provided would indicate that something had to be done and this particular company had the perfect solution. 3

All you've got to do is condition your mind to be open to possibilities. This means you should no longer cast aside and other newspaper, magazine, or piece of "junk mail", without first checking it over. Keep your eyes peeled for any worthwhile marketing piece that would make an excellent addition to your swipe file. Be sure to always use only original printed pieces and not photocopied reprints. Originals are always worth more money and are preferred by buyers. It also helps you present a much more compelling sales presentation on eBay when it's time to sell your collection. It may also be the only sure way to avoid any potential legal snags. All you're doing is clipping ads from printed publications and not duplicating or reprinting in any way. What's really great about selling swipe files on eBay is that there's nothing else you need to do other than provide the original ads, as is. There's no need to put them inside plastic sleeves. There's no need for scrap-booking or binding of any sort. You simply cl
ip ads and drop mail pieces into your collection box. That's all there is to it. You just provide these pieces as you find them. When you've filled up your box, or you feel you have enough material to create a compelling offer, prepare your ad and get it listed on eBay. (I show you how to do this quickly and effectively in my new book eBay Ad Magic)

My story
I have to admit that I discovered this idea quite by accident. As a copywriter myself, I was checking the listings of one of my favorite category on eBay. I wasn't in search of a swipe file -- I had one of my own. Instead, I was perusing the listings searching for old advertising books and marketing courses by some of the giants, past and present. As I scanned the titles I happened upon a description that contained names like Jay Abraham, John Carlton and Gary Halbert. The item being offered was a group of ads that included their work. In marketing circles, these guys are at the very top. Virtually all of their material sells at high prices, every day of the week. As a copywriter and marketer myself, I'm naturally drawn to anything Jay or Gary has available. And eBay is usually the best place to get this stuff at bargain prices. As I dug in a little deeper, I noticed that what started at $9.99 had already topped $400... with 9 bids and more than three days left in the auction. This one clearly caught my atte
ntion so I marked it as one to watch. I checked back a few days later and was shocked to 4

find this package of freely available printed matter had sold for more than $1000US! Suddenly the bells went off. Had I stumbled upon the most profitable product ever listed on eBay? I'd been collecting ads for a number of years and I knew that among my files were at least a few golden ads. I couldn't wait to go through the entire collection and see what kind of offer I could compose. It seemed like I had ads everywhere -- in my filing cabinet, bookcase, office closet -- even in the garage. I knew there was some organizing to do, but I was intrigued by the possibilities. The first thing I did was find a large cardboard box. As it turned out, I had just taken the last ream from a case of printer paper and this box was both large and had a removable lid. Next, I gathered every ad I could find that had been saved earlier. I was off and running with my first swipe file. I then dumped the box on my desk. Fortunately I have a large work area, so I was still able to function with this massive pile of odds and ends
of marketing material next to me. Each evening I grabbed a handful of papers and began sifting through it. When I found something particularly interesting I jotted down a few key details in my notebook. Every night I had at least a page of interesting ads that I knew other copywriters would like to have in their collections. It didn't take long before I knew that I had more than enough material to put together my first package for sale. But before I was ready to actually sell, I needed to do some clipping. With so many pieces in total, anything that didn't belong would only cause confusion and only add unnecessary weight to the outgoing package. So I carefully trimmed only the ads I wanted to include. In some cases the ad was only a small portion of an entire page that I had told of a newspaper or magazine. But in my estimation, that one example had value -- so it was worth including. But leaving the whole page would've made it more difficult for the buyer to figure out exactly why I had included the entire
page. And nobody would appreciate paying extra for extraneous matter. Yes, clipping and trimming does take a little time, but it's an important step. The best way to minimize the amount of extra work you have to do before cashing in is to minimize the amount of extra paper you clip or rip at the outset. It's best to tear out around a small display ad, 5