Do you want to keep better track of your sale items? Here are a few tools to help you spend less time doing the administrative work, and more time reaping the rewards.

A Notebook

On the inside cover, write down the different user i.d.s and passwords for all the auction activities you do at various web sites - auction sites, photograph storage sites, hit counter sites.

Make columns for the following: Item #, Description, Date Listed, Amount Listed, Amount Sold, High Bidder's email address.

Leave a space between items for you to write in details of the sale. For example, the date sold; method of payment; and when payment was received.

Keep this notebook somewhere near the computer. Now all the information you need is in one easy-to-find place.

Description, Pictures, Counters

Open up a Word document and lay out the format of your ad. The sizes and fonts for each section - title, general description, specific measurements and details, shipping and payment instructions.

List underneath some good expressive selling words that you'll want to choose from, without searching for new ones each time. Add more as you think of them.

Save as Auction Template. Now every time you list a new article online, you can simply open the template, put in the specifics, choose some of the words from the list and copy and paste to the online description.

In your notebook, write out the routine you follow to add pictures and hit counters to your auction. List the steps involved in the most efficient way. If you store pictures on your own web site, right click on the picture, go to properties and copy the URL to the auction page. If you use a service, write down the number you have been assigned before transferring the image. Your routine may look something like this:

List item online with description.
Note item number.
Load images onto www.whereveryoustoreyourpictures.com
Attach the images to the item.
Add a counter.

Packaging Materials

For each article you list, find a suitable box and packing materials. Save up packing peanuts and bubble wrap to recycle. If it is clothing you are shipping, wrapping it in tissue paper first is a nice touch. Bubble envelopes can come in handy sometimes as well.

On the day you list the item, wrap it up, take it to the post office and have the shipping charges written on the box - both air and surface. Don't forget that there will be taxes on top of the amount you are given.

An alternative approach is to determine a general figure that would cover your costs to most destinations and list that as the shipping fee.

You can purchase a supply of stick on labels for a more professional look, or you can make nice looking labels with your computer and plain paper, then just tape it onto the package.

Storage

Designate an area in one room as Auction Items. It should be out of the way, but easy to reach. It could be in a closet, or a corner of a spare room.

As you list each item and package it, label the box or envelope with the contents and place it in the designated holding area.

If an article sells the first time, all you have to do is pick it out of the pile and ship it.

If an article doesn't sell, it is packaged and waiting to be relisted, and all the work is done.

Correspondence

Create a template for a standard email that you'll send to the winning bidders. A thank you note asking for the address, shipping choice, and if they want insurance. Keep it in Saved Mail so you can just open it and change the recipient and a few words each time.


These suggestions should keep your auction efforts organized and running smoothly. Good Luck!