Google filed a lawsuit two weeks ago in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California against Auctions Expert International LLC. Google is accusing Auctions Expert of abusing the Google AdSense program, in which web publishers display Google’s pay-per-click ads and receive a share of the revenues.

Auctions Expert joined AdSense in August 2003, according to the lawsuit. Google later discovered the alleged misconduct, terminating the contract between the companies and refunding advertisers, Google’s complaint states.

“These clicks were worthless to advertisers but generated significant and unjust revenue for Defendants who were paid by Google as if the clicks were legitimate,” the lawsuit states.

Google is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and restitution for the revenue-share payments it had made to Auctions Expert, according to the lawsuit.

Google spokesman Steve Langdon said that the Mountain View, Calif., company uses fraud detection technology to combat click fraud and protect advertisers.

“This lawsuit against Auctions Expert demonstrates the success of our anti-fraud system and that we will take legal action when appropriate,” he said in a statement.

Talk about your all-time wimpy statements. I’m not impressed. All Google did was exercise its right to file a lawsuit. The same right any of us have. Somebody shoot off the fireworks. Woo hoo! That’s some scary stuff right there!

I’m still waiting for Google to flex its considerable muscle. I want to hear a powerful statement from a powerful company. Something to the effect:

“Nothing is more important to us than our customers. They
helped make us who we are today, and we will not let them
down. We are determined to meet and defeat click fraud head
on–no matter how how long it takes or how much it
ultimately costs!”

But it will never happen. Why? Because despite its considerable power, Google is a lot like Michael Jackson in some ways. Let me explain:

At one time Michael Jackson was the biggest, most powerful star on the planet. However, as we soon discovered, he was also a wimp who was out of touch with reality.

I view Google the same way. Google is the biggest, most powerful search engine on the planet. But the way it’s handling click fraud is wimpish and shows it’s out of touch with reality also. These are criminals we’re talking about here. They’re not afraid of a silly lawsuit.

Google needs to get with the program and develop a “gangsta” attitude. Hold a worldwide press conference and tell these punk click fraud thieves in no uncertain hip hop terms:

“Yo, dog, let me holla at you for a second. We are Google, yo. We are the biggest, baddest, most powerful search engine on the planet, yo. Peep this: Do NOT steal from us or our homey’s, fool. Me and my posse have the means, the resources and the resolve to hunt you down like the punks you are 24, 7 and bust a cap in your ass! Peace…we out!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer,
publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be
reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net
Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net

For editing a ‘favourite search’ first go to ‘my eBay’. You will see a link ‘all favourites’ on the left hand side of the page. Under this link click on the ’searches’ link and find the search you may want to edit. Then click on the link to the right of the search ‘edit preferences’. Edit the required information and click the ‘edit search’ link. You can even delete a favourite search. Go to ‘my eBay’. On this page, go to the left side and click on the ’searches’ link under ‘ all favourites’. Click on the checkbox for the search to be deleted and click the ‘delete’ button.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

He also manages http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com an online wholesale and closeout forum.
Donny can be reached at 718-389-5502

Why do dogs bark like they do? I know there is one thing that I really hate, it is the sound of the dogs barking. What am supposed to do about a barking do? Barking dogs are going to be the death of me. Sometimes my dog will just start barking for no good reason. If we are on a walk, and the dog goes crazy, there is really little that I can do get him settle down. One time last summer, it was the farmers market, we decided to take the dog down to the park, but this turned out to be a not so good of an idea. There was another German Shepherd walking around and this is something that my Buster was not going to take. Unfortunately, my wife was walking the dog at this time. As soon a Buster saw this dog, he took off and started running after the other dog. He ripped her to the ground and drug her through the grass for about twenty feet. I ran over just in time to stop him from getting that other dog. I don’t know what his problem is. Why is he doing this? He does this pretty much any time he see another dog. Maybe he is just trying to protect my family.

In an innovative and daring announcement, he said that if he could not reach an agreement with Hamas within ten days, he would put the referendum for a two-state solution of Palestine side-by-side with Israel before the Palestinian public, thus rejuvenating his own stymied agenda while providing a face-saving way for Hamas to slip off the hardline hook it has inserted in its own pants and get to the negotiating table.

No doubt his was prompted by the growing inability of his government to function without Western funding, as well as by Ehud Olmert’s announcement that Israel could not wait forever and would, if it could not negotiate with a credible Palestinian government, impose its own final borders.

But you still have to give the guy credit for his insight and daring.

We wish him well and, of course, safe passage among the ever treacherous and ultimately self-destructive holdouts who populate his surroundings.

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway and has written comedy for TV. Critics have called his writing “”delightfully funny” and “witty” with “good, genuine laughs.”

I had been buying and selling on Ebay for a number of months without any problems at all. If I ever bought anything that cost over £100, I would offer to meet the seller somewhere, normally just off the motorway and this was working very well. I managed to pick up some real bargains and also managed to offload some of my unwanted items which I either had no interest in anymore or that I had no longer a need for.

Good things apparantly have to come to an end and unfortunately it did with Ebay.

I was looking to purchase a mobile phone and saw an advert for a buy it now phone with the asking price low but not extremely low.

There was a mobile number to phone if I had any questions. I therefore rang him, his name was Tony and asked him the general type questions. He sounded and seemed really nice, however stated that he was unable to meet me as he was unable to drive as he had not past his test.

His house was a long way from where I lived and reluctantly I agreed to pay via a bank transfer. He assured me he would post the phone, that very day via Royal Mail Special Delivery to arrive by 11am the next morning. He seemed very genuine, they always do your thinking and that was that.

Next morning have a guess what arrived, yes nothing at all, nor the next day, nor the next.

I tried e-mailing him, texting and ringing his mobile phone, guess what, there was no reply.

I realised what a fool I had been, however decided to go to the police. They were very helpful and half an hour later I had a crime number however was warned that it was very unlikely I would ever see a phone or recieve a refund of my money which was £170.

Outside the police station I sent Tony a text with the police crime number. To my shock he phoned me straight away swearing at me but eventually agreed to refund me the money, if I stopped the police action against him.

I was very lucky, I am sure many other people as the police stated, never get their money back.

Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill has a couple of websites at http://www.gain-confidence.co.uk and http://www.debt-specialist.co.uk

South America’s best ski mountains are in Patagonia and Argentina with fabulous snowboarding bargains. Amongst the central regions of both of these countries one can locate several ski fields. The most notable snowboarding resort in Chile is known as by some Little Schweiz and if you travel there you will imagine you’re in the Swiss alps with the aesthetic Swiss chalets. The ski resort has chalets, a restaurant, bars, and all that you need to make a awesome skiing holiday. The biggest skiing domain in South America is in Chile. Set just 39 minutes from the international airport you will be able to arrive there with a swift trip after flying in non stop from numerous towns as well as Chamonix France, Lyon, Berlin, Rome, LA and Stockholm.

Every Christmas, we see one toy that everyone wants. One year is “talking Elmo” and the next year it’s something else. But, it never fails to occur. Because everyone wants “it”, so “it” is in high demand. If the supply of the product isn’t sufficient to meet the customer demand, prices soar, as do profits for the people selling them.

You could hope you pick one of those products and make a lot of money in one season, or you can be smart and have a profitable business all year round. How? Understand trends in our society and how they help you predict the products which are or will be in demand, now and in the future.

Current Trends In American Society

By reading and watching current news, we should be able to spot trends. These trends will have an impact upon people and therefore, the products they need or want. For instance, some current trends in the United States are as follows:

Americans are fatter than prior generations (particularly children)

Baby Boomers (a very large potential market) are getting older. Many are in the 50s or 60s.

More and more people purchase online from the security and comfort of their own home

Americans are more security conscious since 9/11

Travel by car or recreational vehicle is up over previous years

Diabetes is making major inroads into the general population

These are just some of the trends impacting our culture now. We need to take those identified trends and make some assumptions about them. With these assumptions come product decisions, profitable product decisions.

Using a Trend to Pick Profitable Products

Let’s choose the Baby Boomer trends upon which to focus. We know that the Baby Boomer Generation represents a large, and very wealth, segment of the current American society. If we choose to focus upon this group of consumers, we know we have a large potential audience. More importantly, we know we have an audience who can pay.

Determining the products we will offer starts with making some assumptions about our targeted market. What does that mean for the Baby Boomers? We need to take what we know about that market segment and then make some assumption based upon that knowledge. Let’s try.

What We Know: What We Can Assume:

We know they are getting older. We can assume they don’t like that.
We know they are fatter than prior We can assume they don’t like that
generations. and want to do something about it.

Let’s just look at those two trends and how they help us choose products. If this generation is fatter than the last generation, we can assume larger size clothes are needed right now. Is that true? At eBay, plus size women’s clothing sold for a total of $90,903.37 in the last 30 days! There’s a profitable product selection for the present.

If we assume they are fatter and don’t like it, they must want to do something about it. What might they do? Exercise or diet. What does this mean for possible products? Exercise equipment or diet pills. Is this true? At eBay, exercise equipment sold for a total of $1,125,144.50 in the last 30 days and weight loss pills sold a total of $130,795.34 in the last 30 days! Two more profitable, “in-demand”, products at eBay, right now.

Choosing the right product for a profitable business does not have to be difficult. Just follow the four easy steps; analyze, assume, test, and choose. You simply have to read and watch the world. Look at leading news articles and magazine stories. What appears to be uppermost in the minds of potential consumers? What assumptions can you make about the trend? What product(s) does that translate to? Sell that product and you will earn money. Continue to follow those four steps and you will be profitable for a long time.

Michele Schermerhorn has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com). Online Business Institute Inc. exists to “Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time”. They run regularly scheduled free online seminars.

eBay is a great way to make a steady part-time or full-time income from a hobby
that you love! Selling paper piecings has its ups and downs, but overall it is a
rewarding and lucrative venture.

Getting and Understanding An eBay Account

To get started selling paper piecings on eBay, you will need to set up an account. If
you already have an account, you many want to consider changing your user ID to
reflect your status as a Paper Piecer. Find something that can be easily abbreviated
for your titles so that you can create a name for yourself that is easy for potential
customers to find. You can also use your entire ID in your titles. Some examples are:

User ID is a*scrapfanatic and abbreviation in titles is A*
User ID is CherryRedSpyder and abbreviation is CHeRRYReD
User ID is Luvspaper and uses luvspaper in titles

If you don’t yet have an account and want some information on starting to sell, visit
http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/n-selling.html

This will give you detailed step-by-step instructions to help you get started!

When you are ready to list, keep these things in mind:

Choose a Category
Paper Piecing = 11792 OR
Toys&Hobbies, Hobbies&Crafts, Arts&Crafts, Scrapbooking, PaperPiecing

Title
Make sure it contains the phrase “paper piecing” (without the quotation marks) since
many people find these items by searching for “paper piecing” in the titles. Also try
to include an abbreviation of your user ID to help create a recognizable name for
your paper piecings. If there is room, try to list any extras you have in your auction
such as shaker, beads, buttons, etc.

Description
Start your description by giving all of the basic information about the paper piecing
that you made. List the dimensions and a brief description of each part of the set.

Also let people know if you used pens and chalks to add detail to your sets. If any
part of your set is computer generated, it is a good idea to note this in the auction.

Let everyone know whether your background paper is included or not.

Make sure you let your potential customers know if you use all acid-free, lignin-free
products when making your sets. A lot of people also list information such as
“comes from a pet-free, smoke-free home.”

At the end of the description list all payment and shipping information.

You want to
make sure that customers know the following: what payment methods you accept/
prefer, your shipping rate, how the items will be packed, whether or not you offer
insurance and how much you charge, and your email address for any questions.

Minimum Bid
Set the price at the absolute minimum you are willing to accept for this paper
piecing. Most auctions start in the $3-10 range. Adjust your minimum bid price
according to time, materials used, and the detail of the piece.

Auction Duration
You have a choice of 3, 5, 7, and 10 day auctions. Most paper piecers use either 5
or 7 day auctions. It is a good idea to have your auction extend over Sunday
evenings because it is a very busy time.

Learning About Optional Photo Hosting Services for High Quality Photos
eBay allows you to host one photo per auction free of charge. This is a great service,
but unfortunately the photos are not very clear. To get the clearest photos possible,
find a photo hosting service. Some free and easy to use options are http://
www.photobucket.com and http://www.webphoto.com There are also low cost,
reliable options like
http://www.villagephoto.com It is a good idea to use a photo hosting service along
with the free eBay photo in case one of the services “goes down.” This way people
can still see some type of photo for the auction.

Studying The Paper Piecing Auction Market
To see which paper piecings are selling the best, go to http://www.eBay.com and
type “paper piecing” in the search box. When the search results page comes up,
click on “Highest Priced First.” This will allow you to browse through the best-selling
auctions. Take notes. Note which themes and styles are selling well and try to come
up with original designs that fit into those themes/styles. You can also click on
“Completed Items” to see what the end price was for recently listed auctions.

Copyright Issues
Did you know that each time you create an original paper piecing it automatically
has copyright protection? You do not need to register a creation to have it
protected.

It is a good idea to put a notice with your auctions when it is an original design. If
you are using a pattern from a Tole/Pattern book, you should not use a copyright
notice. A basic copyright notice looks like this:

Copyright 2002 Your Name Here

This also means that all of those other original paper piecings that are listed on
eBay are protected. It is okay to browse around and get ideas and inspiration, but
you should never make copies of paper piecing that you see.

For more information on basic copyright protection, visit
http://www.nolo.com

Read Profitable Paper Piecing on eBay, Part 2

Copyright © 2002 Antuanette Wheeler

http://www.misstonigifts.com

Miss Toni Gifts started out as a small pin sales site and blossomed over the last few
years into a pin/bookmark combo design business.

We are three women who have known each other forever. We have all been involved
in scouting, scrapbooking and general arts and crafts for a LONG time. This is really
a family affair because Glenda is the Mom, Toni is the daughter, and Missy is a
friend for over 20 years!

When it comes to eBay auctions, many people are unsure as to how to select items to sell - and where to find them. While figuring out which items sell best on eBay may be a little difficult, finding those items isn’t difficult at all! You just have to be creative in your search, and keep an open mind!

Start your search at your own home. Clean out the garage, the attic, and the closets. You will most likely be very surprised at the items that you will find.

Don’t make the mistake of throwing things out, thinking that they are useless.

What is useless to you may be very useful to someone else, and you should try to auction it off! Of course, items that are worn out to the point of not working are not useful to anyone - but if the item is old, and it still works, it can be auctioned off…in fact, it doesn’t even have to be old or valuable!

Offer to clean out the attics and garages of older people as well.

Older people tend to hang onto things for years and years, and as that time passes, those items become more valuable. Offer to buy items that you find in their attic or garage. Most people don’t realize the value of what they have, and you will probably pick up many high selling items very cheap. In fact, as a way of thanking you, the items may even be given to you at no charge!

Visit the yard sales and garage sales in your area.

People sell things for next to nothing at these sales. If it is in good shape, and you think you can sell it on eBay, buy it. Even if it turns out to be an eBay dud, you can always resell the item in your own yard sale to get your money back out of it. However, do some research before you start hitting the yard sales. Find out what items and brands are selling well on eBay.

Flea markets are also great for finding items to auction off at eBay.

Keep up with how much you pay for items at the flea markets, and when you post the items for auction at eBay, make sure that your reserve price is not less than what you originally paid for the items!

Go to storage auctions.

Most storage businesses auction off the contents of the storage units when people fail to pay their storage bills. This is a fabulous way to find items to auction off on eBay. Estate sales should also be attended to find high value antique items.

Another option is to use drop shippers for new items.

Setting up an account with a drop shipper is really quite simple. You can auction off brand new items using either the auction feature or the buy now feature at eBay. Just make sure that your reserve price for auctions is not less than what the item will cost you! Once your item is sold, the drop shipper will ship the item directly to your customer.

The most important thing about selling is that you need to make sure the items that you pick are in good shape and are saleable. This doesn’t mean that the item has to be in perfect condition - but if it is in less than perfect condition, you need to convey this information when you set up your auction.

Use your imagination, and keep your eyes open constantly for items that you can auction off on eBay. Again, do your research and find out which items and brands do well on eBay. Make a list, and carry it with you wherever you go!

CopyRight Ian D. Major 2005

Ian D. Major makes it easy to understand and use eBay, quickly and
easily. Learn all you need to know by visiting

www.ebay-articles.com

an entirely FREE source of information about eBay.

eBay stores come at three levels: Basic for $15.95 per month, Featured for $49.95 per month or Anchor for $499.95 per month (yes, that is typed correctly: almost $500). The best place to start out is with Basic (you can even get a month’s free trial), but if you like what you find then you should upgrade to Featured quickly, simply because it has so many extra features. Note that you must have a feedback rating of at least 20 before you can get an eBay store.

But what is an eBay store? Basically, it lets you list a set of fixed price auctions together on one page for much longer than auctions usually last - and most sellers with eBay stores list the items at a slightly lower price. It’s like a list of your special offers. You can put your logo on the store and write a little about your business and policies, and your customers can search your store for anything they might want. Buyers can click through to your store using the door symbol next to your name.

A good way to look at it is that it’s a little like having your own e-commerce site outside eBay where you can list your items more long term - except it’s all done for you without you having to learn a new system. Items in eBay stores can be listed for 30, 60, 90 or 120 days, or you can list items permanently, paying monthly for each one.

So you Want an eBay Store Now?

You can visit eBay stores at http://stores.ebay.com. Go there now and click the ‘Open a Store’ button on the right of the screen to start signing up for the free trial. Then there are a few steps to go before your store can open for business.

Step 1: Pick a theme. You can have whatever design you want on your store, but to begin with pick something from eBay’s options that you think would be appropriate.

Step 2: Add your store’s name, description and logo. You can pick one of eBay’s pictures for the logo or upload a logo of your own if you have one. Don’t worry, you can always change this later.

Step 3: Choose your subscription level, and then click ‘Start My Subscription Now’. Your store is ready! Remember that you can customise it more at any time.

Listing items in your store is just like listing items on normal eBay using ‘Buy it Now’, except that the durations you can choose from for the store are much longer.

By now, you’ve probably spent enough time in eBay that you’re starting to get used to it - but then again, you also might have been a victim of fraud by now, or at least seen fraud happening to others. The next email will tell you how to fight eBay fraud.

Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.