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Just Say NO To The Exponent Trading Company

Over the past few days I've been contacted by a number of people asking me to join the latest eBay fad. I am talking about The Exponent Trading Company at exponentrading.com

All the people who contacted me told me it was a chance to make some good money off my list. None of them could explain how it would benefit my readers, just how I could profit from telling you about it.

Here's how I would make money from telling you to join. Note I am saying would because I am telling you NOT to join.

I'd give you a link to The Exponent Trading Company and tell you how much you'll make when other people do work. Then you'd sign up, and I'd get a chunk of your membership fee.

Then hopefully, you'd get others to join The Exponent Trading Company under you. You'd get some of the membership fee, and I'd get some of the membership fee.

Neither one of us has to do anything except get others to become members of The Exponent Trading Company.

How long do you think this would go on?

Also, do you think you could get many people to sign up under you? I know I could. I have a reputation for steering my readers in the right direction. Just this once I could screw my readers and tell you to go join Exponent Trading Company.

After all, most of you would forgive me for it. As long as it didn't happen again too soon.

What Is The Exponent Trading Company?

The Exponent Trading Company says it's about eBay Consignment. Let's look at their site and see.

Before I get into the eBay consignment specifics let me explain some terms: I stopped using the terms consigner and consignee because they are confusing. Now I use the words owner and agent. The agent sells the owner's items on eBay.

EBay Consignment consists of two basic things:

Finding owners with products to sell.

Then as an agent selling those items on eBay.

I couldn't find any statements on the site telling you they would send owners to you. In fact the site explains it's real purpose with these words:

"The purpose of an Exponent business is to allow you to make a full-time income with a part time selling effort, while building a team of others who do the same simple thing."
Taken from the exponentrading.com FAQ list.

As for selling items on eBay, the site says they have training videos to help you learn how to sell on eBay. I didn't see them as I refuse to pay to look at some simple flash videos, but I bet they aren't worth $60.00 a month. I used to sell my TWO HOUR LONG eBay Success Video for $29.97.

If you want eBay selling advice, there are lots of articles you can read for free here on this site, and there are even a few free eBay ebooks.

I don't sell my materials by getting you excited about building a downline, I sell them based on giving you enough information so you can get started and then pay me for advanced information. A different, and maybe more ethical, model.

IWantCollectibles is about credibility first. Not pipe dreams.

A third consideration when doing eBay consignment is keeping track of what you sell. I keep records in a spiral notebook for clients I know, and use inventory sheets for owners I don't know well.

Now, The Exponent Trading Company says they'll keep track of everything for you. I don't know how that will work because the page on their site explaining it doesn't exist, but I doubt it's worth $60 a month either.

Vendio (used to be Andale) offers something called Sales Manager for as little as $14.95 a month plus 22 cents per listing. Vendio seems to offer a bunch of different reports and other interesting things. I am just using this as a comparison as I don't use Vendio, but my students speak highly of Vendio.

Also, if they are selling a system for keeping track of eBay sales, they should have videos. The only video available to nonmembers like me was one telling me how much money I'd make by joining and then telling others about the system.

Here's something else I can rant about also from FAQ page at The Exponent Trading Company website:

"Exponent is essentially a "consignment" selling service… Trading Agents sell items for themselves and others (clients) for a commission. Most of that money is returned to our Trading Agents as commissions through our powerful 7 level compensation plan. Also, after the first $200 in monthly sales, the seller will actually keep 95 - 97.5%."
Taken from the exponentrading.com FAQ list.

I love the fact that I can sell my own stuff for a commission. That's so generous of them to allow me to pay them a fee for selling my own stuff. I guess they figure I'll gladly pay them this fee, because some other sucker will also pay and I can get a slice of his fees.

This statement leads me to believe The Exponent Trading Company is basically just a eBay selling management solution wrapped up in a multilevel plan. This is done in order to get people excited about getting something for nothing.

The paragraph above says the referrers will get a seven way split of between $2.50 and $5.00 of every hundred dollars above the first two hundred in sales. That doesn't sound like much, and if the whole idea is someone else will be doing the actual work - you know finding owners and selling items on eBay - who exactly is going to be doing the sales?

I think based on my examination of the site they'll be charging you the sixty dollars whether you have sales or not.

I assume The Exponent Trading Company will also split the initial membership fee and the sixty dollars taken out of the first two hundred dollars in sales, but this isn't explained on the site.

That's what the people sending you emails are chasing. The splits from the initial fee and the monthly fees.

I doubt it will be long before people drop the program, and the only ones who will benefit are the ones who told you what a great deal this was.

Remember I said to Just Say NO To The Exponent Trading Company. Disclosure - I stole that line from Nancy Reagan. Personally I always thought it should be "Just Say, No, Thank You," but her version is a bit more forceful.

One last note here. I bet within a few days of me posting this email online, I get attacked because I sell a book about eBay Consignment.

These people will probably say I am just attacking The Exponent Trading Company because it's a way to get you to come here and buy my book on eBay consignment.

To keep that from happening, I'll give you my book on eBay consignment. I used to sell it for $29.95 at www.iwantcollectibles.com/consign5.html

But now if you go there, you can download the eBay consignment manual, the contract and the inventory forms for no charge. It's there, just take it.

I guess that will remove anyone's ability to say I am only being negative about exponentrading.com in order to make a buck. Actually, if I was only after a quick buck I'd lead you on with a bunch of pie-in-the-sky promises about The Exponent Trading Company.

Terry

PS If you end up doing eBay consignment, please make a donation to the Shriners Hospital Network. The Shriners are the clowns with the little cars you see in parades.

In addition to running around in tiny cars dressed as clowns, they also run a network of hospitals for children. You can make a donation directly to them. Not to me, directly to them on their site. Here's a link:

Shriners Hospital Network Donation Page

PPS Last week I wrote about my new digital camera. I got an email yesterday from Ritz camera saying the camera was on sale, and asking me to send you a link. When I bought my first digital camera, I went to the local Ritz camera store and took train with me. They helped me figure out what I'd need to get great eBay images. This is my way of rewarding them.

Ritz camera

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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.