Ebay and other ways to merchandize yourself

I am selling readings on Ebay as a way of introducing myself to folks. I also run a small Tarot 'zine where I post musings on Tarot things and offer specials such as my 3-4-5 (three cards for five dollars). I also read for the FTN.

What do you do?

I have just had my first repeat Ebayer. She got a reading for 1.50 LOL and now she is going to buy a full price reading from my website. That makes me happy!

Heh!

I've decided to skip eBay strictly because as you note, they pay VERY LITTLE there for anything & I don't yet have a website to grace my listings with... I have been waiting for one from my sister since '99, dunno if it's EVER gonna happen, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!! Mine is going to be cool in that I will include a glimpse of the deck with every reading; the person can choose from any of my many decks & get a reading that is exactly suited to their question.

I read for Kasamba - they take a lot of money, BUT they bring quite heavy traffic & if you get a good rating, you're hot property! So I'm contenting myself with that for now.

Good luck with your website!

Now I'm thinking, hmmm... Howzabout announcing through eBay about my being "Lady Danu" on Kasamba? That way they'll know my name & where I work, & can pay my REAL rates if they want to come look for me!

Thanx for a thought-provoking idea!

E-Bay??

I've had disappointing results with selling on E-Bay. Everyone seems to be like me when I'm on the browsing-buying side; I want to get a bargain. When selling, I don't want to give bargains away. It can be a quandry. Dave

How does Kasamba work?

It's a conglomeration of every kind of expert you can think of, broken down into categories. There is an extensive "Spirituality & Religion" category; that's where the Tarot is. They take a fairly high % of the cash, but they also bring in the traffic - paying for that I don't mind too much.

If you can make yourself look good enough to make some money for them, they will "hire" you. But, keep in mind that it's actually a lot like eBay - it's person-to-person with them taking fees. The clients pay you through the site, they take their fees, everyone is happy. I've been getting 4 & 5 star reviews right through, so I'm very happy right now. I've had some really swell feedback! One person who gave me **** said she thought that listing & analyzing the cards was "too slow" - well, I ask you!! What the heck else do you do for a reading?? The last person I read for actually said that they liked my detailing each card! I don't get what that other person expected. I do them in the same format as I use for here. It's Tarot! If they want a regular "psychic"-style reading, they should go over to the other section! Ok, enough of the rant for now! That was the only even approaching negative comment I've had thus far (except for the very, very 1st thing I did off of the public board, which I was short with & only got 2 stars & a complaint about the brevity - bless K., they didn't count it because it was my very 1st one!! ). -The "Public Board" is where people post their question & you try to get them to hire you to answer it. You can post the answer with a "pay-per-view" (that's what I did).

Oh - 1 other thing: Someone just PM'd & told me that they are based in India!! ?? Well, whatever. As long as they don't disappear anytime soon, & keep bringing me clients!

Hi Danubhe

How did you manage to get going on Kasamba? It seems to me that if you have got no testimonials or feedback then no one will hire you and you can't get feedback until someone does hire you. Did you start by answering public board requests? There are so many readers on there - you must be doing well to get so many clients.
Thanks.

I've been hit and miss on Ebay as well although of late, I am a lot more hit than miss. I just had someone do a "Buy It Now" on one of my spreads. So my PayPal account (my fun money for Ebay) is building up. LOL!

Tarotwytch said:

How did you manage to get going on Kasamba? It seems to me that if you have got no testimonials or feedback then no one will hire you and you can't get feedback until someone does hire you. Did you start by answering public board requests? There are so many readers on there - you must be doing well to get so many clients.
Thanks.

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I honestly didn't expect any business at all - it's a mystery!! Actually, I included some (permission granted prior) feedback testamonials from here! I have had some really positive feedback, especially 1 that said I was completely right about something that happened later. So, you see, I *did* have feedback.

I believe that there are those who are really interested in the "newbies", so they give them a try just to see how good they are. If they like you, they will become clients - give you repeat biz.

I *did* do a public board question as my very 1st - but I made mistakes, I wasn't thorough enough. However, I believe that that person was really looking for a $25 reading for $10! They complained at its length. It's in my history, but not in my feedback. I have had ****-***** ever since, I'm so happy! Really nice things they said, too - except for that person who complained about my taking the cards & reading them - !!!??? I think that they really wanted a regular "reading"-reading... But anyhow, everything else has been quite glowing.

It's not hard to get going, as you can see - as long as you make yourself look good! Then, you deliver. Voil`a, customers!

danubhe said:

It's a conglomeration of every kind of expert you can think of, broken down into categories. There is an extensive "Spirituality & Religion" category; that's where the Tarot is. They take a fairly high % of the cash, but they also bring in the traffic - paying for that I don't mind too much.

Click to expand...

How do they pay? Is it regular? Do you have any problems with them?