There are several reasons to start an online business. · You hate your job or boss. · You want to make more money. · You want to spend more time with loved ones.
· You want more freedom.
· You love the Internet. If you are like me, it’s likely all of the above reasons you are considering an online business. If you have been considering an online business, you probably get overwhelmed by the amount of information. You may even be a little suspect of the many offers out there. I don’t blame you. Imagine it the number of email offers as well as teleseminars represented the number of people at you door, you could not get to your car! I believe the best way to achieve success online is to build confidence and momentum by gaining small steps of accomplishment. I’m sure that you have seen claims of making $10,000 in a week or something similar. Sure it is possible, but not likely next week. To get to that mark, you will need to make $10, then $100, and then $1000 a week. If you are just starting, you should invest only a small amount of money and gain some success while learning. There are many affordable options. Here are some of the things you should look for in a package: Help with Traffic: You need a legitimate way to get qualify preferably targeted traffic to your site. Conversion: Advice to turning your web traffic into sales is key to your bank account. Sales copy help can save time and make money. Consider eBay: Ebay is an excellent easy way to start online because of the tremendous traffic structure eBay provides.
Web design - you may know html or you can find templates to enhance your sites appearance. Automation - time is money to everyone. Make sure time-consuming small task are automated by a system in place. Attitude - online business is simple, but not easy. You are sure to have some frustrating moments and a positive attitude will do wonders for you. Affiliate - maybe you need helping selling your product or service. Perhaps you can sell the product or service of others. Maybe both. Affiliates are a great way to expand sales. Search Engine Position - although it could take some time, getting placed at the top of search engines could bring all the traffic you can handle. Marketing advice - participate in forums read what various experts are saying so you can effective marketing you web site. Ezine - publishing ads in online magazines (ezines) can bring in quick sales. Banners Pop-ups/ unders - when use correctly can bring efficient. Blog - Learn to use web log to express your opinion position yourself as an expert. Protection - various tools can be used to protect your web copy, links, code so others can not easily copy your success. There you have it. The most important thing is to get started avoid procrastination. All of the items you need can be found at www.ebook-depot.info . Check it out and get started. Carl Williams www.ebook-depot.info support@ebook-depot.info
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John Thornhill Those who sell eBooks on eBay recognize that certain titles tend to decrease in popularity over time. A new release that is enthusiastically greeted by buyers may eventually linger without a single offer after a few short months. If the eBook was handled wisely, the seller made a significant profit when the market is hot. However, he or she will still own resell rights to the eBook after the initial surge. One can let those older titles sit on a hard drive, gathering digital dust, or they can try to breathe new life into the older products and find a way to make them valuable commodities for some time to come. Obviously, maximizing the value of one’s investment in the resale rights to an eBook is the more sensible alternative. There are a few techniques one can use to make some of those older titles viable again on the eBay market.
The first strategy is bundling. This involves taking multiple titles and offering them as a package deal. This technique can work very well when one owns the rights to a variety of titles on a related theme. They can then offer a one-of-a-kind package featuring a great deal of information at a very low price. Even though some of the material may not be cutting edge, the sheer volume offered can make the deal very attractive to potential buyers. When one considers that the eBooks involved were doing nothing in terms of moneymaking prior to being bundled, it is easy to see why this is a popular strategy for eBook sellers. Another strategy involves searching out a different target audience. Many eBook sellers focus on offering items to consumers with a direct interest in the eBook subject matter. For instance, an eBook about “dog care” may be aggressively marketed toward dog owners. However, one can offer older eBook titles (again, often in bundled form) to other sellers. Resellers may be interested in obtaining rights to a wide array of titles inexpensively, believing they can resell them either on eBay or in some other venue. A third means of breathing new life into an older title involves providing an update to the established title.
Generally this will involve self-authoring an additional eBook or special report as a companion piece to the pre-existing eBook.
This is as great way to convince those who missed the eBook back in its heyday to pick up a copy now. It also allows you to offer that older title with something else, making it a bit more attractive. Finally, you may even find buyers who are primarily interested in the updated special report. This will require either writing the material or outsourcing the task to a freelance writer. However, if you are dealing with a well-known title, this can be a great way to make extra money! One must, however, be cognizant of all copyright and intellectual property right matters in authoring any sort of companion piece to a pre-existing title. Old titles don’t need to just sit on the hard drive unused. With a little effort and creativity, one can reinvigorate their inventory and maximize its profit potential.
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With timeshare the use and costs of running the resort are shared among the owners. While the majority of Timeshare resorts are condominium vacation resorts, developers have applied the timeshare model to houseboats, yachts, campgrounds and motor homes. History of Timeshare The notion of a timeshare was originally created in Europe in the 1960s. A ski resort developer in the French Alps innovatively marketed his resort by encouraging guests to «stop renting a room» and instead «buy the hotel». The developer was successful in increasing occupancy and the idea spread worldwide. Timeshare Methods of Use Timeshare owners may elect to: Use their usage time Rent out their owned usage Give it as a gift Exchange internally within the same resort or resort group Exchange externally into thousands of other timeshare resorts Timeshare owners can elect to stay at their resort during the prescribed period, which varies depending on the nature of their ownership.
They can rent out their week or give it as a gift to friends and family.
Timeshare offers owners the possibility to exchange their week, either independently or through several exchange agencies, to stay at one of the thousands of other resorts worldwide. The two largest exchange agencies are Resort Condominiums International (RCI) Interval International [II] and there are several independent exchange agencies. RCI and II both have resort affiliate programs and members can only exchange to affiliate resorts. It is rare to find a dual affiliate resort, it is more common for a resort to be affiliated with only one of the larger exchange agencies. RCI is the largest with over 3,800 resorts split between its weeks and points programs. II has more then 2000 resorts. It is important when considering timeshare ownership to consider which locations and resorts you may want to travel to before making your purchase, because the timeshare resort you purchase at will determine which of the major exchange companies you can exchange through. Both RCI and II charge membership fees and exchange fees. They also bar members from renting weeks they have exchanged for. Timeshare owners may also arrange a direct exchange, this requires locating a timeshare owner with the location and weeks both mutually desire. This form of exchange is rare but since it can save in exchange fees it is often sought after.
Color Time Color time refers to the travel season for any given resort. For RCI, the designations are: Red: high demand season White: intermediate season Blue: low demand season For II, the designations are: Red: high demand season Yellow: intermediate season Green: low demand season Types of Ownership Fixed, Floating and Rotating Weeks Ownership is often sold as weeks, the use of these weeks can be fixed, floating or rotating weeks. Fixed Week Ownership The most basic timeshare unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar enumerating the weeks roughly starting with the first calendar week of the year. As an owner you may own a deed to use a unit for a single specified week. For example week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July Holiday. If you owned Week 26 at a resort you could use your week every year. Floating Sometimes a timeshare is sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks you own and from which weeks you may select for your stay. An example of this, a timeshare may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season generally weeks 22 through 36. In this example there would be competition for prime holidays such as the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The weeks when schools may still be in session would not be so high in demand. Some floating contracts exclude major holidays so they may be sold as fixed weeks. Rotating Some timeshare is sold as rotating weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a chance for the best weeks the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the calendar so one year the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 the next year and then week 27 the year after that. This method does give each owner a fair opportunity for prime weeks but it is not flexible. Deeded vs. Right to Use A major difference in types of timeshare ownership is that between deeded and right to use contracts. With deeded contracts the use of the timeshare resort is usually divided into weeklong increments and these are sold as fractional ownership and are real property.
As with any other piece of real estate you may use your week, rent your week, give it away, or leave it to your heirs. With right to use, the timeshare purchaser has the right to use the property in accordance with the contract but at some point the contract ends and all rights revert to the property owner. In other words, the right to use contract grants the right to use the resort for a specific number of years. In many countries there are severe limits on foreign property ownership so this is a common method for developing timeshare resorts in countries such as Mexico. Disney Vacation Club is also sold as a right to use. Vacation Clubs Vacation clubs are organizations that may own timeshare units in multiple resorts in different locations. They are sold both as deeded or right to use and club members may reserve vacation time at any of the owned resort units based on availability. Points Programs Resort based points programs are also sold as deeded and as right to use. Points programs annually give the owner an amount of points equal to the level of ownership. The timeshare owner in a points program can then use these points to make travel arrangements within the resort group. Many points programs are affiliated with large resort groups offering a large selection of options for destination. Many resort point programs provide flexibility from the traditional week stay. Resort point program members may request from the entire available inventory of the resort group. Exchange company point programs are not a method of ownership nor are specifically associated with one resort or resort group. With the exchange company points programs the members may be limited to exchanging for weeks deposited by other members. A points program member may often request fractional weeks as well as full or multiple weeks stays. The number of points required to stay at the resort will vary based on a points chart.
The points chart will allow for factors such as: The popularity of the resort; The size of the accommodations; The number of nights; The popularity of the season; and the specific nights requested. There is flexibility as well as complexity in point programs. Important Note on Ownership With any of the above mentioned ownership methods, a timeshare owner is legally and contractually tied to that ownership. A timeshare owner has rights, responsibilities and legal obligations. Once the timeshare contract is made it is not easily ended. These contracts and obligations belong to the timeshare owner until the timeshare is sold or ownership is transferred through some other means. Rescission Period In many developer contracts (and often required by government statutes and/or regulations) there may exist a Rescission period. The Rescission period outlines how many days after a timeshare purchase, from a developer, that a buyer has an opportunity to change their mind and cancel the purchase. The Rescission period is usually only a few days long and the buyer must follow the cancellation procedure exactly or risk the request to rescind being ignored. Types and Sizes of Timeshare Units Timeshare properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units (with room for two) to three and four-bedroom units.
These larger units can comfortably house large families.
Timeshare units normally include fully equipped kitchens with a dining area, dishwasher, televisions, VCRs and more.
It is not uncommon to have washers and dryers either in the unit or easily accessible on the resort. Kitchens are equipped to the size of the unit, so that a unit that sleeps four should have
at least four glasses, plates, forks, knives, spoons, and bowls so that all four guests can sit and eat at once. Timeshare units are usually listed by how many the unit will sleep and how many the unit will sleep privately. Sleeps 2/2 would normally be a one bedroom or studio Sleeps 6/4 would normally be a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa Sleep privately refers to the number of guests who will not have to walk through another guests sleeping area to use a restroom. Timeshare resorts tend to be strict on the number of guests per unit. Unit size can effect demand at a given resort where a two-bedroom unit may be in higher demand than a one-bedroom unit at the same resort. The same does not hold true comparing resorts in different locations. A one bedroom with a great location may still be in higher demand than a resort with less demand. An example of this may be a one bedroom at a great beach resort compared to a two bedroom unit at a resort located inland from the same beach. The concept of vacation timeshare has also been extended to luxury items such as planes and luxury cars. Scope of Timeshare Industry Today’s timeshare industry includes over 5000 resorts worldwide, for a total of 11 million timeshare «intervals» that have been individually sold to nearly 7 million families around the world. There are timeshare resorts around the world. Global timeshare sales total over $9 billion annually. ARDA, American Resorts Development Association, reported that in the USA, as of January 1, 2005, there were 1668 timeshare resorts serving 3.87 million US households. Ownership has increased in the USA 16.2 percent in 2004 and 13.8 percent in 2003. There exists a resale industry for the resale of timeshare intervals. Many of these can be found searching the Internet as well as an active market in the online auction sites such as that on eBay.
Pros and Cons of Timeshares The timeshare industry has been widely criticized and even sometimes likened to a travel scam. Unlike the customary renting arrangement, where the customer decides every year on the quality and price of accommodations, timeshare requires to make a major payment up front. There exist doubts as to whether timeshare buyers ever recover the money spent, but the vast majority of timeshare owners have no desire to exit the system and find the quality of their holiday accommodation makes their financial outlay a logical expenditure. There are also some complaints that owners have to return to the same resort every year, but there exist several companies – the best known being Resort Condominiums International (RCI) Interval International – that enable timeshare owners to exchange their weeks into literally thousands of resorts around the world. There are a growing number of independent timeshare exchange organizations available to timeshare owners. Other complaints include issues surrounding the yearly maintenance fee. Some critics talk of ever escalating fees that mean owners cannot afford to keep their weeks due to financial pressure. One of the major benefits of the product is the fact that vacation timeshare is real property. Resort developers purchase land in a location and develop a timeshare resort. They are actually selling consumers deeded weeks of real property at a specific location, meaning customers can do what they wish with the weeks they own. This flexibility includes the opportunity to rent out weeks that are not used or indeed to lend them to friends or family. Like any other product, timeshare exchange is subject to the law of supply. This should make the exchange mechanism a fair and meritocratic system. For example if a timeshare owner deposits a studio apartment in low season that owner is unlikely to be able to exchange into a villa during a country’s high season.
In practice the major exchange companies have proprietary exchange formulas that add complexity to the system. The study of and issues revolving around exchanging are beyond the scope of this article and should be researched before making any timeshare purchase.
The first question is, should you really sell in the first place? We find many potential sellers who want to sell for the wrong reasons.
They can’t get the reservations they want, are unsuccessful trading their time through the exchange companies, can’t get the property rented or similar such problems. This tells us they probably don’t understand just how to get the most out of their timeshare. Timesharing is an interactive sport. The more you learn about how to use it and the more attention you pay to making reservations at the right time, banking your time, etc. the more you will get back. If this is the problem it might be better to spend some time with the resort staff to find out how to make it work than to give up and sell it. In numerous cases we have given tips to our customers on how to achieve results and had them come back later and express their happiness that they didn’t sell. On the other hand, there are some legitimate reasons for selling. If this is the case then this information will help you. Suppose you lived in a 100 unit condo property all of which were absolutely identical. Let’s also say that the current market values were $150,000. If you said, «I will sell, but I want $250,000″, what do you think would happen? Right!! You would sit and wait and wonder why your condo didn’t move. Furthermore, it wouldn’t move until you adjusted the price to the current market level. Resale timeshare buyers are not dumb. They know they can steal these units on the secondary market and there is no way they are going to pay more than that. If your price is too high you simply will not sell it. Another complaint we hear when we quote current market values is «I can’t take that kind of loss. I paid a lot more than that for it.» One time a banker said that to me. He said, «The bank has a lot more than that in it and can’t take that kind of loss.» I told him that the bank had already taken that kind of loss, the only question was when he was going to recognize it. It sounds brutal to say, «I don’t care what you paid for it», but that is what the buyers do say. Resales do not sell for the original developer price. Does that mean you paid too much to begin with? Probably not. There are not a lot of developers who have become rich in timesharing. Many have even left the field. Chances are what you paid originally just covered the developer’s cost, and the marketing (50% of the price).
Remember all those «free gifts»? Guess what? They weren’t really free. Why this low pricing? Until recently, there wasn’t a good marketing system for resales. What would stocks be worth if there were no New York Stock Exchange? Same problem. In the long haul, we believe resale prices should rise as the current levels present incredible values to the buyer. How long will it take? Who knows? In the meantime, your resale had better be priced right or it simply won’t move. How do we price it right? The same as with condos, you need to determine the comparative market values (comps). For what price has similar timesharing property been selling (closing)? The best source for this information is your licensed resale broker. The next best source is title companies. As time goes by, this information will become easier to come by. Your property manager might have some ideas as to values. If you follow Timesharing Today over time, you could call some previous sellers whose ads no longer appear and find out if and for how much they sold. That brings us to Rule 1: Your resale timeshare must be priced right (at the going market price). The general lack of liquidity in the resale business has given rise to a new cottage industry known as the «Timeshare Resale Scam». In this scenario, you as a potential seller get a call saying, «We can sell your week if you will just send us $350, $500, $2,000″ (your choice). If it will make you feel any better, I got hooked on this years ago myself. I sent them $350 and they put an ad in the local shopping news (on the other side of the country) at a cost of $9. The results were just as you might suspect: nothing. Some of the frauds such as the recent Oscar Bradley scam (see Timesharing Today issue #30, Nov/Dec, 1996) were very elaborate. In that one, they would say they had the $4,000 value timeshare sold «to an offshore buyer» for $16,000.
To guarantee the sale closing within a year you could buy an insurance policy with the British Guarantee Company for $2,000 to $4,000 (whatever they could get). They invited you to check them out by calling «The Timeshare Advisory Council» at an 800 number they would give you. Of course, that was Bernie down at the other end of their boiler room. Sadly, they fleeced a number of timeshare owners before they were driven out of the country. Lately we understand they are continuing the same scam by phoning from England where they are supposedly beyond the reach of the FBI. Their former leader is now in prison. One of the latest variations of this scam is the «need» for a resale appraisal. They claim that this is necessary because their «lenders» require it. These frauds tend to originate in Florida where there is now a law against front fees for resales. The appraisals are priced at $300 up (Ridiculous). Some of these «Resale Brokers» will give you a list of several appraisers who are acceptable. Some are even offered by respectable national franchisees. Question: Why would their «lenders» need an appraisal before the buyer has even asked for a loan (Most don’t)? The bottom line is that you will be relieved of your money without the production of any acceptable results.
The old saying of «Why buy the cow if the milk is free?» certainly applies here.
Why would you pay a listing or «appraisal» («advance «or «front») fee when it is unnecessary? Would you pay a broker to list your condo? Of course not. Just shop around until you find a broker who will work on a straight commission. Once you have sent a front fee the incentive to produce drops dramatically (to zero). It is not uncommon for you to be told not to call again to check on your «listing». Not to say all advance fee deals are frauds, just most of them. If you say no to all, you will be right most of the time. And that brings to Rule 2: Don’t pay any kind of fee to list your timeshare for sale. This is particularly true if the agent is in a different state from the property or says, «We are an advertising agency, not a broker». Listing a timeshare normally requires a Real Estate License in the state in which the property is located. If they don’t have one, beware!
