No Free Lunches

If you want to learn how to sell on eBay, the good news is you have a lot of options. New books and electronic, online and print ads form a constant drum beat extolling the eBay entrepreneurial revolution. The news isn't all good, however. As with most things with a price tag, buyer beware! I recently attended a company's "free" two-hour eBay seminar that promised, in several full-page ads in a local newspaper, to reveal the "secrets to proven eBay success." The ads also promised a free online auction toolkit on DVD and a digital camera for attending. The presenter was knowledeable and seemed like a nice guy. His spiel was breezy — at times funny with the right mix of self-deprecation — engaging and entertaining. However, when he announced a break at the mid-way point, it was clear the seminar was way short on details and tall on hype. It was also, sadly, a big sales pitch with an invitation to attend a second event on another day -- this one a lunch workshop with a $20 registration charge. Such tactics are rife in the seminar trade, especially those of the investment, financial, real estate and infoproduct ilk.

And right before the break the presenter deviated from his company's own newspaper ads in announcing that the promised "free" DVD and digital camera would be available to those who signed up for the second meeting. Often, companies will ask seminar attendees to wait until the end to collect their freebies. This is a tactic to get most people to attend the whole seminar. This seminar was worse in that its hosts reneged on their offer. As it was, the newspaper ads "free" offer failed to stand up to a close scrutiny of the fine print. The "free digital camera", it turns out, was yours for a shipping and handling charge. I suspect the camera was of dubious quality at best. Further, at the seminar the presenter mentioned something about a voucher or certificate to send away for the camera.

The point of this screed is these ultra-slick seminars have one objective: to sell you something … and often it's not cheap. Who do you think pays for all those full-page ads and free goodies, not to mention the slick presentations and the two or three attractive assistants waiting to take your orders and credit card numbers in the back of the room? Right, you do! You see the thing is you shouldn't have to flyspeck the fine print or worry about if or when you'll get your promised free gifts, or whether you'll have to miss work or an appointment on a second or even a third day just to finally receive the much-touted secrets of how to grow wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.

Companies on the seminar circuit have every right to try to separate you from your hard-earned dollar. And while many of these companies are reputable and effective, I'm not sure the bad apples have the right to mislead to the extent they do. Please remember that if you're looking to learn how to sell on eBay, usually your best bet is to go to the source: an eBay-trained Education Specialist. We use eBay's own materials and often have our own tips and secrets that can make you a lot of money. We offer more personalized service and are not trying to sell you a product directly, just sell you on the benefits of eBay. Please remember that eBay wants you to succeed; eBay wants you to make money. The more money you make, the more money (fees) eBay makes! Hey, we eBay Education Specialists have a profit motive just like the seminar sponsors; we just differ on presentation, content and tactics.

So the next time you or a friend, colleague, neighbor or loved one giddily signs up for one of those big "free" seminars at a major local hotel or conference center, you may want to point them to one of the classes offered regularly by this humble eBay Education Specialist, who is a part of your community, not a paratrooper in an Armani silk suit who drops in for a day or two during a whirlwind tour of the U.S. You may not get "slick" from this eBay expert, but you will take home tons of information to help you get started making money on eBay.

OK, stepping down from my soapbox now … Thanks for reading!

P.S. Don't just take my word for it. Read about similar tactics used at "free-lunch" investment seminars for seniors. This report's first five or so pages contain a summary of the findings.