With the recent eBay fee increases and changes to their feedback policies, many sellers are looking to market their products away from the online auction giant.

Many sellers, however, are making the unfortunate mistake of moving to what they refer to as "alternative sites" such as PlunderHere, eBid, and Wagglepop; to name just a few.

What these sellers are failing to realize is that they are doing nothing but moving from the auction giant to the auction giant wannabe. If (and it is a BIG if) these sites were able to pull in even a third of the traffic and sales that eBay generates, there would be fee increases along the way plus new rules and regulations in order to keep both buyers and sellers happy. Essentially, these sellers are lining the alternatives' pockets today to be back to square one tomorrow.

Decreasing use of eBay is never a bad idea. Sellers should, if possible, establish their own online presence in the form of individual, privately owned stores. There are many benefits to this:

• One monthly fee with unlimited listings: List as many items as you want for one monthly fee (ranging from as little as $3.99 per month to $59.99). You can list multiples in stock and there are no final value fees as you sell. I currently use www.camelot-hosting.com and pay only $24.99 per month with many easy to use features.

  For beginners who need to time to get comfortable with the the idea of operating a business without the auction format, there are free hosting sites such as eCrater and FlyingCart that I would recommend.

• No feedback hassles: With your own website, a seller doesn't have to worry about an angry customer, scammer, or competitor setting out to destroy their sales with negative feedback.

• More than listings to keep them coming back: When selling on eBay, buyers can only see the sellers products. If a seller has an eBay store, it's possible to include information pages, but they are limited and with no possibility of including an interactive resource such as forums. Customers enjoy "free" information and the more you offer, the more they will continue to return.

Those are just a few of the examples of the benefits of owning a privately owned website.

Little to no knowledge of how to draw customers to their personal website is what keeps many sellers from making the transition from an online auction venue, be it eBay or an alternative. Truth be known, it isn't that difficult. Here is some simple ideas that I use daily to bring customers to my website:

• eBay (or alternative site) as an advertising venue only: Don't leave eBay completely, using it as an advertising venue. With the high volume of traffic that eBay affords its sellers, it is a great place to see out new customers. With each shipment, I include a postcard that I designed at Vista Print (very affordable) with contains coupons for discount products, free shipping, etc. for use only at my website.

  Each week, I list an average of five (5) items hoping to bring in five (5) new customers. The turnover from eBay to website is seldom 100% but it will, over time, average 75 percent. This can vary depending on your product and competition.

• Have a niche, find a group: If you offer a niche product (ie craft supplies, collectibles, books), join a discussion forum that focuses on that topic. In the signature line of your post, include a link to your website (be sure this is permissible by the forum moderators).

• Trade links with complimentary businesses: A good example this can be found at my site under the section of "Find a Bowmaker." I provide a link to those bowmakers who, in turn, link to my site. The purpose of this is to assist in SEO (search engine optimization, see below) and offer shoppers a place to easily locate someone to make their bows for them. You don't want to link to competitors; only to those who can compliment your site.

• Spend an hour per day learning about SEO: Search Engine Optimization is very important for any website owner. Take an hour each day to educate yourself on the ins and outs of SEO and how to better "tweek" your site for the most popular search engines.

• Free or Low Cost Classifieds: Online classifieds seem to be everywhere these days. Spend a little time each week using these free or low cost classifieds to promote your business. Chances are that you will not sell directly from these sites, but because they are frequently visited by search engine spiders, it will help bring customers to your site by way of searches.

These are just a few ideas to get you, the former eBay die-hard, started in the world of online entrepreneurship.

You can be successful! eBay does not control you, you control you; and your product and your sales. With a little work, you CAN break free of listing and final value fees!

Submitted By: Kim Cantrell, owner of The Ribbon Shoppe