Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

Having any type of business is all about marketing. Regardless of what anyone says having a profitable home based business is all about effective marketing. How do people know your in business if your not marketing your home business? People think that marketing is expensive and that you have to have a degree to be effective at profitable marketing. I want to dismiss this myth and share with you some cheap and effective ways to market your home based business and start generating leads starting today.

Guerilla Marketing 101

To make a lot of money with your home based business you don’t have need a marketing budget of a large corporation. Let me share some ideas and tips on how you can effectively market on a shoe string budget.

The first step with any marketing strategy is identifying your target market. With your home based business this is pretty easy. Your target market is anyone looking to earn extra income outside of their job. You can even narrow it down further then that and target stay at home mom’s,professionals, young people, etc. Second step is addressing a certain problem which is lack of money. Then you want to address how they can solve this problem through your home based business. And lastly having a call action whether it be calling a toll free number or even a online website. You can bring offline prospects online!

Offline Marketing

The best place to generate leads for your home based business is in your own back yard. Some people want to hide behind the computer to generate leads, but you need to get out there and start networking locally. Network marketing is all about meeting new people and creating relationships. Here are some easy ways to generate leads locally.

Sizzle Cards

Sizzle cards are business cards that are tiny billboards about your opportunity. An example of what one might say is this

“Do You Want To Earn More Money?
Earn $2000 to $5000/month without leaving your job!
Call 888-888-8888 (recorded info) to learn more!

See short and sweet, it addresses a problem which is earning more money, then it tells them how much they can make with your home based business, and lastly to call the number to get more info. Now you’ve generated a lead and for pennies! You can get these through your company or a 3rd party vendor with a generic message.

Yard Signs

You’ve seen these when your waiting at a light at a intersection. Those little signs with some sort of advertisement. This is a great way to generate home based business leads and they are a bigger version of the sizzle cards. These work 24/7 as long as someone doesn’t have them removed! It’s the same concept as the sizzle card and it’s really cheap as well.

Car Signs

Turn your cars back window into a mobile billboard for you home based business. Imagine someone sitting behind you in rush hour traffic coming from a job they hate and they see your sign. Think they might call? You bet they will! Turn your back window into a moving sizzle card! This works really well if you drive a nice car and you can even put a ad like this.

“Want To Drive A Car Like This?
Call 888-888-8888(recorded info) to learn how!

Newspaper Ads

Post a classified in any of your local papers. This is a really cheap and effective way to generate leads for your home based business locally.

Networking Groups

If you go online you can find all kinds of networking groups in your home town. This is a great way to meet people that are professionals and are looking to network with other people. Be cool here, don’t vomit all over people about your business keep it professional and ask for their business cards and exchange yours with them as well. If you make a good impression you can call them later and invite them to take a look at your home based business opportunity. One good site to network with people is YAP(young active professionals) They hold local networking events at local places like bars,restaurants, and other venues. Get out there and meet new people!

These are all examples of ways you can generate leads for your home based business and hopefully gave you some ideas and how to get started right away. You can become creative with this and might even come up with some new ideas of your own. Bottom line is that you always want to market,keep it consistent, and find out what works for you.

Whenever we think of a computer geek, we tend to imagine a young man in thick dark rimmed glasses peering into a computer. However, women have also made gigantic strides into the world of technology. Closer to home and keeping technology in mind, a home based business for women is probably the next emerging trend. The male dominated ranks of “Internet Gurus” is starting to fill up with women, with increasing numbers of women owning websites dedicated to providing the necessary tools that are conducive to online success. More than men, women are embracing the internet community and the numerous advantages of a home based business for women are especially enticing to women.* Stay at home practical benefits:The freedom of choice can become exhilarating, although a drawback can be complacency. Time management and fervent dedication to a goal are essential qualities that should be mastered early on. Being able to stay at home can sometimes be doubly beneficial to women over 50 since they can perform chores such as providing home day care for children (either for their family or for financial gain) and still have the time and stamina to manage a home based business for women. Since practically all fields of interest can be open to women in the online world, the initial step should be to review personal expertise in a specific field and stick with it once the decision is made.One of the biggest mistakes that beginning online marketers make is not to let a certain direction have the opportunity to take hold. Just flitting from one promising opportunity to the next can easily lead to wasted time and money. The emotional benefits of staying at home are not to be understated either. Brainstorming the merits of a certain home based business for women with loved ones can lead to enhanced closeness and helping others make money is a gratifying experience in itself. Not having to answer to a demanding boss is a dream finally come true.* Financial benefits:Beyond the obvious value of making money from a home based business for women, the immediate financial benefits come in the form of reduced travel expenses, dry cleaning or meal expenses associated with working outside the home, clothing, shoes or cosmetics expenses, to name a few. Having the extra time to peruse newspapers or the internet for special deals on needed items will also result in additional savings.* Tax advantages:Having a formal home based business for women will make you eligible to deduct a percentage of your home expenses, such as mortgage, utilities, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, repairs or improvements, and finally depreciation. For this purpose, having a tax professional, such as an accountant, conduct a formal evaluation would be money well spent since these types of tax deductions tend to raise your IRS audit score.* Skills enhancement:Running your own home based business for women will force you into learning new skills as you become the sole decision maker and will have to be knowledgeable about all the aspects of running a successful business. Remember, you are the CEO. Working from home typically involve low or very low overhead costs, thus budgeting for your business will be less stressful. Online work budgeting commonly consists of training course and marketing costs that are strictly controlled by you.Overall, a home based business for women can be of terrific value, just keep in mind that this is WORK; juxtaposed to the brick and mortar world, this work can sometimes be combined with pleasure.