Build A Niche Store (bans) Faq

[decodethis]

BANS (BUILD A NICHE STORE) FAQ

OK, I've seen way too many people ask the same questions about BANS. I've put this FAQ together detailing some of the common questions and answers about this software package. I'd appreciate rep if you find it useful. :)

What is BANS?

BANS stands for Build A Niche Store, an eBay affiliate web site generator. Using BANS you can create a web site that will display eBay listings from particular categories that you select. When a visitor clicks on one of the displayed listings they are taken to eBay. If that user buys an item within 7 days of clicking on that link you get credit for the sale.

Where can I buy BANS?

http://www.buildanichestore.com is the web site. You'll see a lot of people push their affiliate links at you as BANS is sold through Clickbank. I'll spare you. :)

What do BANS sites look like?

Try a couple of mine: http://www.shelbycars.org (simply css styling), http://www.turboguides.com (more modified)

What else do I need to get going?

You need a free account on Commission Junction (http://www.cj.com) and you need to apply and be accepted for eBay's affiliate program. I'd do this BEFORE I bought BANS just to make sure. You'll also need a reliable web host, a domain or subdomain, and an idea for niche you want to sell. :)

How do I make money?

You make a percentage of the profit that eBay makes on each sale from listing and final sale fees. This amount varies from item to item. I've seen payouts from $0.16 up to $200 for each sale. Higher value items generate higher profits. You can also earn $25 for each new eBay user that signs up through your site (they need to at least bid on something within 7 days of signing up)!

So selling cars can make me thousands?

eBay Motors uses a flat fee instead of the typical percentage based fee for other items. You'll make around $40 per car sold, depending on listing upgrades. Other items, like expensive watches and antique furniture can cost as much (or more!) as some cars, and use the regular eBay listing and final value fee schedule (hint, hint).

What is a PID and where do I find it?

Your PID is a number that gets created when you add a web site to CJ's system; they uniquely identify a site for sales tracking purposes. PIDs are necessary to get the proper credit for each sale. You MUST set your PID if you want to make any money.

To get a PID log into CJ.com and click Account, then Web Site Settings, and then Add a New Web Site. Fill in the info for the site you want to use. When you're done you can select that site from the dropdown. You'll find the PID listed in the information for that site.

What is a SID?

The SID is a string of characters you create to help you track your sales. Use anything you want to identify the source of the sale. BANS uses the keyword assigned to the page where people clicked to get the listing. SIDs are optional.

How much money can I make with BANS?

That's a loaded question. As with any web site it depends on the quantity and quality of traffic your site receives. It also depends on how many sites you're willing to set up.

What's the license limit on setting up BANS sites?

No, there is no limit to the number of BANS sites you can set up with your purchased copy of the software. I personally have about 2-dozen, and I know of people with at least 40.

How much does BANS cost?

$97 as of version 2.0

How long does it take to set up a BANS site?

With a little practice and preparation it's easy to set up a site in an evening. The installation process is quite simple: set up a MySQL database, copy up the BANS files to your host, visit your site's home page and follow along with the installation instructions. Select your template and eBay categories and you have a basic site running!

What are good hosts to use with BANS?

I personally use a dedicated server for my sites nowadays, but I'd easily recommend Hostgator as a good host. People have had issues with Godaddy as a host, and Dreamhost (another of my hosts) requires you to use PHP4 with BANS (but it works).

OK, I have BANS up and running, thanks dude! But it looks pretty bland

BANS ships with several generic templates in version 2.0 (version 3 will supposedly ship with more templates). They're all pretty blah, but they're easily modifiable by altering the CSS file that's included. You can do that right within the admin interface. I have a site called Designer Niches (http://www.designerniches.com) that I offer a free template to get you started if you don't like the basic ones. An example site using the free template is http://www.conventionalgeek.com.

How do I promote my BANS site?

People use different methods to promote and get their sites indexed. I use a custom sitemap and backlinks to help with the indexing process. Social bookmarking sites are also a good method. I also try and find directories on the topic I'm promoting and get links from those sources. Writing custom articles and adding them to your site also helps drive traffic. Use any method you'd normally use to promote a web site. DO NOT use Craig's List as it's a known way to get yourself in trouble with eBay.

What about PPC Campaigns?

Many people do use PPC (Pay per click) campaigns such as Adwords to drive traffic. I personally haven't done it yet, but I know people do use it to generate sales. As with any PPC campaign you need to monitor it to determine how successful it really is.

What's BANS "footprint"?

BANS has several "identifiers" that help people track down sites created with the software. It's rumored that Google uses these footprints to delist (I doubt this) or at least apply a penalty to BANS sites. Footprints such as the ebay "rover" links and the "Powered By" link at the bottom are known ways to find a BANS site quickly. I personally have modified my BANS installation files to eliminate most of the footprints.

How long will it take before I make some money?

Like any web site it all depends on the traffic that your site generates. I've set some sites up that made sales on their first day. Other sites I've set up have taken a month because the traffic was mainly "lookers" and not "buyers".

What's the biggest limitation of BANS?

I'd say that the limited SEO features puts the BANS sites at a disadvantage over hand-crafted eBay affiliate sites. You can alter the Keywords, Description, and Title tags of a page, but the first H1 tag is always the same for the entire site. This can be overcome with a little custom modification.

Where do I find help?

The BANS forum is one of the most active software support sites I've seen in awhile. When you purchase the software you're given access to the forum which is full of tips, suggestions, and general support from both members and the developers.

Should I buy BANS?

The short answer is yes, the $100 investment will probably pay off within the first month with a well constructed site. So far BANS is the easiest way (note not the most efficient way) of creating eBay affiliate sites geared around a specific category (or categories for version 2.0+).

I hope that helps people getting started. I'm chronosafe on the forums, see you there!

[renomart]

Good work!

[Union]

Wow! This is terrific. Kinda wish I had something like this when I was just starting out..

rep added for sure!

[greatness008]

Green added thx.

[decodethis]

Thanks for the kind words. :) I remember how hard it was when I started. I actually put BANS aside for 3 months because I had trouble with it at first, so I understand people's pain.

[Liquifire]

Nice template, thanks.

[cylai]

good tips!

You may also want to add this: you must become an eBay affiliate before buying BANS !

[decodethis]

good tips!

You may also want to add this: you must become an eBay affiliate before buying BANS !

Thanks :) Actually that's part of "What else do I need to get going?" already in the FAQ...

[MeetHere]

I was always confused..

Thanks for clearning my doubt, good post :)

[hovesh07]

Regarding masking those "rover" links...
It seems that all my ebay links are the same from from beginning until the "&loc=" part.
Does that mean that I can pass the rest to a PHP script that'll fire up the actual ebay link with all the affiliate goodies thrown in?

[decodethis]

Regarding masking those "rover" links...
It seems that all my ebay links are the same from from beginning until the "&loc=" part.
Does that mean that I can pass the rest to a PHP script that'll fire up the actual ebay link with all the affiliate goodies thrown in?

I don't think that's very safe... if eBay changes something all your links will be broken until you notice it.

What I do is take the whole rover link and BASE64 encode it and pass it as a parameter to another php file. That file then decodes the BASE64 encoded string and then uses it to do a redirect. That way the actual ebay link never appears on my page. I do something similar with the ebay gallery image.

The end result is no references at all to eBay on my site, all links display as internal. :)

[danfirst]

Question.
I got rejected automatically when I try to join the eBay affiliate program in CJ.
I've emailed the eBay affiliate team as suggested, but they never responded even after 3 days. What should I do?

[adigital]

I also got automatically rejected so I applied from the UK eBay and finally got accepted.
So if I get buyers are from the US do I get paid?
Is the PID number different when you get accepted by ebay.com and ebay.co.uk?

[decodethis]

Question.
I got rejected automatically when I try to join the eBay affiliate program in CJ.
I've emailed the eBay affiliate team as suggested, but they never responded even after 3 days. What should I do?

The holiday season may be a bad time to attempt to contact ebay's affiliate team. Try again in a few days, and mention a web site that is content rich as the target for your affiliate sales; they're trying for a level of quality. Just don't go and submit an MFA or Porn site, use common sense.

I also got automatically rejected so I applied from the UK eBay and finally got accepted.
So if I get buyers are from the US do I get paid?
Is the PID number different when you get accepted by ebay.com and ebay.co.uk?

Your sales are valid whether it comes from the US or the UK. Your PID is site specific, not specific to the nationality of the affiliate. The problem here is that eBay is going to assume ebay.co.uk listings to be displayed on your site because of the nationality of your signup. Trying to sell ebay.com items may put you out of TOS. Anyone tried this?

[christian231]

So the person who clicks through the ebay link on my site will have to win the auction for me to get paid, correct? I guess you have to rely on that persons ebay sniping skills for you to make commissions...kind of scary. I'm going to check it out though...looks interesting.

[decodethis]

Yes, your visitor who clicks through has to win the auction for you to get credit for the sale. If a visitor signs up for eBay (a Lead) all they need to do is BID, they don't necessarily need to win. Leads pay $25 each and are a viable alternative to just sales.

[WineGuy]

Really good FAQ, APPPPLLLLLLAAAAAUUUUUSSSSSSSE!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

[Union]

Yes, your visitor who clicks through has to win the auction for you to get credit for the sale. If a visitor signs up for eBay (a Lead) all they need to do is BID, they don't necessarily need to win. Leads pay $25 each and are a viable alternative to just sales.

Also, you will receive a commission on ALL the winning auctions and BINs your visitors happen to procure within a full-week of clicking through your BANS site. This may not sound like a big deal, but there are some extremely high-volume eBayers out there, and those BIN commissions can rack up fast if one happens to stumble through your site.

[priyaranjan2000]

Can we use BANS site in sub domain.

This is my master site www.ebansstore.info.I am hosting cars niche on root folder
Second I am hosting http://silver.ebansstore.info.Can I host sliver niche on /silver pointing to http://silver.ebansstore.info sub domain. Pls explain me

[decodethis]

Yes you can host a BANS site as a subdomain or as a subfolder to another site. You simply need seperate MySQL databases for each site.

You could do:

ford.hostsite.info
chevy.hostsite.info
toyata.hostsite.info etc.

Each would be a separate BANS installation. The actual way you set up the subdomain depends on your host.

[christian231]

I went ahead and bought the program and created a couple of sites. We'll see how they do. Thanks for the tips.

[Union]

Good luck mate! Keep us updated on how things are working out for you!

[decodethis]

Thanks! I've had a few people ask me how hard it was to install BANS. I've put together a quick video on the installation process at BANS Installation Video (http://www.designerniches.com/_bansinst1). It covers everything up to configuring the store such as:

1. Setting up your domain
2. Setting up your MySQL database
3. Gathering what you need to install (files, template, logo)
4. Copying files to the server
5. Changing permissions
6. Running the install process
7. Installation cleanup
8. Logging in and setting up your admin account

Video #2 will take it from there. :) Pardon the sound, I'll try to do better for part 2...

[decodethis]

Just a note, thank you all for the influx of traffic to my BANS template site, designerniches.com (http://www.designerniches.com). The free template has sold out. I'll have another one available soon. :)

[drive77]

I don't think that's very safe... if eBay changes something all your links will be broken until you notice it.

What I do is take the whole rover link and BASE64 encode it and pass it as a parameter to another php file. That file then decodes the BASE64 encoded string and then uses it to do a redirect. That way the actual ebay link never appears on my page. I do something similar with the ebay gallery image.

The end result is no references at all to eBay on my site, all links display as internal. :)

Do you have a tutorial or some notes on how to do this please?

I have a new bans site due out soon and would like to ensure link integrity from day one (if that makes sense). ;)

[decodethis]

Do you have a tutorial or some notes on how to do this please?

I have a new bans site due out soon and would like to ensure link integrity from day one (if that makes sense). ;)

I've been thinking about doing a tutorial on this, but it involves editing several files and that alone makes it not for the squeamish. The end result is nice but if you screw up the process you end up with a dead store. :(

If you're handy with PHP you'd be able to make the alterations in about 30 minutes. The hard part was finding WHERE to make the mods, not the mods themselves.

[ghoulardi]

Thanks! I've had a few people ask me how hard it was to install BANS. I've put together a quick video on the installation process at BANS Installation Video (http://www.designerniches.com/_bansinst1).

Great tutorial! I'm definitely looking forward to #2, or maybe before #2 you could make an advanced tutorial with tips on masking, subdomains, etc...

I've been thinking about doing a tutorial on this, but it involves editing several files and that alone makes it not for the squeamish.

Hope to see this!

[pradeep.balua]

cool tips man .. really helpful ..

[finty]

Please clarify, I got a bit confused. The only eBay I got accepted as affiliate is eBay Austria. Does this mean, that if users click on my affiliate lik and then buy something on other ebay sites as com or co.uk I will receive a payment?

[Bearded]

Regarding masking those "rover" links...
It seems that all my ebay links are the same from from beginning until the "&loc=" part.
Does that mean that I can pass the rest to a PHP script that'll fire up the actual ebay link with all the affiliate goodies thrown in?

BANS 3.0 (which is currently in beta) is getting rid of all the rover links. All items will now point to a redirect something like http://www.yoururl.com/ITEM-NAME-FROM-EBAY-URL/

Also coming in 3.0 (if you're not a BANS owner, and haven't seen the email):

More countries:
eBay.com - US
eBay.co.uk - UK
eBay.ca - Canada
eBay.com.au - Australia
eBay.at - Austria
eBay.be - Belgium
eBay.fr - France
eBay.com.hk - Hong Kong
eBay.in - India
eBay.it - Italy
eBay.nl - Netherlands
eBay.com.sk - Singapore
eBay.es - Spain
eBay.ie - Sweden

Local support (as in only display items within 20 miles of X)

No longer limited to 100 items per search

Max min bid prices (Finally!)

New Store/Home Page Options:

Display content above and/or below the product listings

Choose to turn on/off store pages and/or delete them

Choose to turn on/off products on a specific store page so that you
can turn it into a content page within your store navigation

Change the number of products to display on a specific page

Display different targeted ads above/below or in the right/left
columns of a specific store page

Choose to turn on/off content pages and/or delete them
Display different targeted ads in the right/left columns of a
specific content page

2 new product layouts to provide more design flexibility between
stores

The ability to turn on/off specific product information...ie:

Turn on/off the product title
Turn on/off the product image
Turn on/off the product end time
Turn on/off the product price
Turn on/off the paypal image
Turn on/off the product bids

Many new search box layouts have been developed to provide more
template design flexibility

Turn on/off the view more items on eBay link

Choose to open the products in a new window or not

New content/store page navigation facility

New ability to edit and view a template before selecting it so that
you can work on your website design without your visitors seeing it
before you are ready to display it

[Trisha]

Do people actually use niche sites for ebay links? I was just wondering why they would use sites like these instead of going straight to ebay and typing in keywords. Do the sites make any money? I've got loads of links to ebay auctions on my dog agility site but these only bring in a very small income. I'm wondering if I set up a BANS site if it would fare any better.

[decodethis]

People do like the convenience of the search process done for them. Also, ebay listings associated with relevant content is a BIG way to generate sales. People who launch BANS sites without any real content are losing out on revenue. I'm guilty of that and I see those sites not earning their potential.

The only thing I promote from CJ is eBay and I make over $1,000 a month. Not all of it is BANS (I have a couple of existing sites (http://www.replicawatchreport.com/articles/iwc/review-of-the-replica-iwc-aquatimer.html) that I've effectively added (http://www.decodethis.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65&vin=WP0CA29837U712553) eBay listings to using phpBay Pro or eBay's free tools). While that's not a fortune by any means it is recurring revenue that I don't have to put a lot of effort into maintaining. I'll take it any day.

[goldfish]

good info....

[DaMa]

Is there an option to install BANS once to cover ALL countries? I put it on a subfolder at my RE site for testing and already had to install it seperately 4 times for AUS,CAN,US,UK traffic. Or did i went a more difficult way?

That site gets traffic from everywhere, thats why i am asking.

[decodethis]

Is there an option to install BANS once to cover ALL countries? I put it on a subfolder at my RE site for testing and already had to install it seperately 4 times for AUS,CAN,US,UK traffic. Or did i went a more difficult way?

That site gets traffic from everywhere, thats why i am asking.

Unfortunately no, there isn't a way to support different nationalities without installing seperate versions of BANS. At least that's how version 2 works. Version 3 supports MANY more countries so it might handle supporting them different. Version 3 beta is due out this week so we'll see. :)

[tramore35]

Thanks alot. I am thinking of purchasing BANS and this has helped me tremendously.

[texasag90]

Yes you can host a BANS site as a subdomain or as a subfolder to another site. You simply need seperate MySQL databases for each site.

You could do:

ford.hostsite.info
chevy.hostsite.info
toyata.hostsite.info etc.

Each would be a separate BANS installation. The actual way you set up the subdomain depends on your host.


Do you guys think there is a negative SEO impact from using subdomains?

is chevy.carfoobar.com better or worse than www.chevy-carfoobar.com?

Thanks,
Mark

[ghoulardi]

Unfortunately no, there isn't a way to support different nationalities without installing seperate versions of BANS. At least that's how version 2 works. Version 3 supports MANY more countries so it might handle supporting them different. Version 3 beta is due out this week so we'll see. :)

Hey decodethis, the site you used in the video, s2000shopper.com looks broken. Why is that?

[decodethis]

It's not finished! I have to complete it by adding the categories and such, which will be in the next part of the video. :) I just haven't shot it yet.

[ghoulardi]

It's not finished! I have to complete it by adding the categories and such, which will be in the next part of the video. :) I just haven't shot it yet.

Ok, well hurry up! I want to see the next one! hahaha, j/k. Thanks

[decodethis]

Will do :) I'll try to get it done before this weekend. BANS version 3 beta begins here in the next few days, so the whole installation process may change... I'll definately be doing a series of videos on version 3.

[cylai]

decodethis:

good job! keep 'em coming!

[Trisha]

ebay listings associated with relevant content is a BIG way to generate sales.
I think I might have too much content on my site to make any money from it. Someone emailed me to say they'd spent the whole evening on it. I wouldn't change the site though as I enjoy it too much myself! Perhaps I will do something in the BANS line.

[cpugeek]

Just a note, thank you all for the influx of traffic to my BANS template site, designerniches.com (http://www.designerniches.com). The free template has sold out. I'll have another one available soon. :)

So tell me, how do a FREE template sell out?:confused::confused:

[ghoulardi]

So tell me, how do a FREE template sell out?:confused::confused:

I think he sets a certain number he gives out that way there's not hundreds of others using the same template. Good idea, I think.

[decodethis]

That's exactly right. I think the value of any template increases by limiting its distribution. It's more of an asset the more exclusive it is. Therefore I limit the availability of even the free templates.

I have a new free template up now, and it will have the same limited availability.

[bennybens]

what a great post, I'll have to check it out.

benny

[SeoGrr]

Thank you for letting us know all this

[Trisha]

Just a thought. If all you're doing is making a site with links to ebay why do you have to pay someone to provide a template? Why not just go ahead and build your own site? I'm not knocking BANS I'm just looking looking for the advantages in doing it this way.

[Kerosene]

Just a thought. If all you're doing is making a site with links to ebay why do you have to pay someone to provide a template? Why not just go ahead and build your own site? I'm not knocking BANS I'm just looking looking for the advantages in doing it this way.

It's easy enough to build a site with simple links to eBay, but if you want to build category and search functions, you need to do a bit of nerding around. I build my own sites using eBay's API/RSS, but if I didn't know how to, or didn't have the time or desire to learn, I'd be using BANS and/or phpBayPro. Considering the possible returns, the bang for buck factor is pretty high with both scripts.

[Trisha]

I use the editor kit for links and I find it very useful for linking to particular suppliers. There's also a flexible destination tool so that you can land on a particular page. I'll check out the API/RRS. I love nerding around a bit. Sad isn't it?

[decodethis]

Hehe yeah I know what you mean. I have BANS, phpBay Pro, ebay's affiliate kit javascript, and RSS all used on different sites. I think it depends on the site and the content it's matched with which one makes the most sense.

[xtirpata]

I've been thinking about doing a tutorial on this, but it involves editing several files and that alone makes it not for the squeamish. The end result is nice but if you screw up the process you end up with a dead store. :(

If you're handy with PHP you'd be able to make the alterations in about 30 minutes. The hard part was finding WHERE to make the mods, not the mods themselves.

Could you give a bit more detail on the 'WHERE', please, if you don't have time for a full-blown tute?

BTW- excellent FAQ. Thanks :)

[decodethis]

It involves editing the FrontControl.php in the cont directory to BASE64 encode the link and to pass it as a query string parameter to a second file. This second file then takes that query string and decodes it and does a redirect to that rover URL thereby masking the true URL entirely. It's kinda harrowing in terms of editing and to be honest it'll be outdated as soon as BANS 3 is released.

[Trisha]

Can you put AdSense on BANS sites? How much content do you need to put on the site to allow for this?

[siteseer]

any news on BANS version 3?

[potentmix]

An email was sent out a few days ago indicating that some bugs, etc. had presented themselves requiring further work. Hence, there's some delay in release, but it will be forthcoming, they said, around Feb. 18.

[texasag90]

Can you put AdSense on BANS sites? How much content do you need to put on the site to allow for this?

Does anyone have a definite answer to this?

Thanks,
Mark

[potentmix]

The answer is yes, you can include AdSense on BANS sites. It's done all the time. As long as you include some content on the page relating to the page's topic, AdSense will probably deliver targeted ads.

All that said, you should be cognizant that with AdSense on the page you could be giving up a click away from your site that otherwise might have led to a nice commission or ACRU as opposed to a small per click payment from AdSense. There is mixed opinion on whether running AdSense detracts from a site's primary sales effort. My own preference is to run other commission based theme/product related ads above AdSense, if I run AdSense at all.

[texasag90]

Thanks. There is so much discussion about being banned from Adsense, that I wanted to ask the question about the TOS.

I agree that this may divert revenue. I plan to run some experiments. Adsense it attractive for highly automated php-driven bans-like stores because of the automatic nature of the content.

[Varley]

this thread is a godsend!

thank you :)

[pixeladd]

Great thread this
I really would recommend BANS to anyone

Im currently making $20 with little effort, basically the more sites i have the more money i bring in

[decodethis]

BANS 3 is right around the corner and it has many refinements that will make it an even better product.

While $97 may seem to be a steep price I can attest to the fact that I've bought MANY Internet Marketing products for more money that have not paid off as well as the purchase of BANS.

With a bit of marketing and a decent niche it's a reasonable assumption that you can make back that $97 in a short time. In my case it took 15 days.

[seowarrior]

This is a helpful thread, thank you. A few questions:

Will the price of ver. 3 remain the same?
Also, what about using RSS feeds to generate related content for your stores? Anyone doing that successfully?
Any additional SEO work you're needing to do manually in terms of optimizing your pages?

[decodethis]

This is a helpful thread, thank you. A few questions:

Will the price of ver. 3 remain the same?
Also, what about using RSS feeds to generate related content for your stores? Anyone doing that successfully?
Any additional SEO work you're needing to do manually in terms of optimizing your pages?

V3 is free to owners of the script. It looks like Version 3 will be released the first week in March.

There are people who have successfully modded BANS to support adding RSS feeds. If you check out the BANS member forums you'll see examples. I personally haven't done it yet, nor does it seem to be a part of BANS 3.

There's always SEO work to be done: setting keywords, descriptions, page content. BANS 3 will make it a bit easier by allowing you to set a default set of keywords and description. BANS is like any other site; it benefits from efforts to make it more attractive to the search engines.

[potentmix]

I'll reiterate that since I bought BANS in early December, I've recovered the $97 many times over. The key, of course, is that you have to perform a sufficient level of seo to assure traffic. What I've experienced is that if can you drive traffic, eBay converts very well, much more so than the majority of merchants offering affiliate programs.

[darkmessiah]

I think this needs to be stressed more than a few times. I get the feeling alot of people think that just installing BANS (and others), and setting keywords will make them a ton of money.

I wouldn't say it's hard work, but if you're a little creative, it's not hard to get the clicks. The items just about sell themselves.

I'll reiterate that since I bought BANS in early December, I've recovered the $97 many times over. The key, of course, is that you have to perform a sufficient level of seo to assure traffic. What I've experienced is that if can you drive traffic, eBay converts very well, much more so than the majority of merchants offering affiliate programs.

[pmarkov]

Hello,

I have been declined from both ebay.com and ebay.co.uk.



Unfortunately, we cannot review your application without a valid, working website (we cannot review this site in lieu of the actual one you would be working as an affiliate under). Once the working site is up and running, please re-apply to the program.

Sincerely,
The eBay.com Affiliate Team


Could you please give an advise how to get approved? How can I build an ebay store as I am not their affilate?


Thank you!

[cylai]

pmarkov:

just wondering where are you from? there are eBay singapore, australia, france, canada....

It is ok if eBay rejects you, there are plenty of affiliate programs out there. another affiliate program that has mass appeal like eBay is Amazon.

cheers,
CY

[purdue512]

I'd agree with the above, you need to put in a some work to make any method or platform pay-off. Nothing really runs on auto-pilot, at least at first.

[christian231]

I think this needs to be stressed more than a few times. I get the feeling alot of people think that just installing BANS (and others), and setting keywords will make them a ton of money.

I wouldn't say it's hard work, but if you're a little creative, it's not hard to get the clicks. The items just about sell themselves.

Yeah this is true. You can't just buy a domain, install BANS then sit back and watch the cash roll in. Just like any website, you need to add some content to each page you create in BANS, especially on your home page. Not only does this help optimize you for search engines, it also makes your template not look like a generic, stamped out store. Get creative, and add some images or some other affiliate products here and there. The more original content you can add, the better your site will do. I like to add a paragraph or two of text above the Ebay listings on each store page. The way the BANS software is set up, it's very easy to optimize each store page for the keywords you are targeting. You can easily put them in the title, keyword and description tags and then use the same keywords in some original content on that page. Do this, and you'll be well optimized and you'll see an increase in search engine traffic for sure.

Here's my latest store I'm working on if anyone is interested....Cheap Adult Diapers (http://www.cheap-adult-diapers.com/). Don't laugh too hard...this site is going to make millions. ;)

[purdue512]

Great post. I couldn't agree more. You need content, and it needs to be related to your niche. Keyword research and targeting is a MUST. Then... Then, you must do link-building in a thoughtful way...

[decodethis]

Definitely any site with content that draws the search engine is going to do better in the SERPS than one without. This is especially true for BANS sites that are normally light on actual content unless you add it yourself. I tend to add at least three unique articles to my BANS sites written around the top keywords for my niche. I then link to those articles from other sources such as Squidoo or Hubpages to get them indexed and ranked. This adds direct and targeted traffic to my site while boosting the site's search engine position.

Putting up a BANS site without content is cheating yourself out of traffic, which in turn cheats you out of money.

[purdue512]

I agree... Good post...

However, to really get my IncomeStores off the ground, I write an article a day and then DIGG them as well as what DecodeThis suggests (Squidoo, Hubpages). If the article is good, I'll put it in EzineArticles and ArticlesBase (both strong PR).

This brings traffic to my specific page, and thus clicks on the products on that page and other searches.

[cylai]

Unique contents rule.. add more contents like how-go guide, video tutorial and tips.

Visit the related forums and see what are people talking about, you will get some good ideas what to write.

[seantish]

Looks like another way to get your feet wet with ebay. I'm back for a second go around do to a lack of work in the construction field. (winter) I feel like this is pulling me into another direction. I don't have a BANS but type of BANS. Sounds great though and looking into it further.

[emphi]

And now BANS v3 is released :D

[decodethis]

And now BANS v3 is released :D

Yes and BANS 3 EPN finally seems to be stable. They had a brief period of instability in the new release that seems to have settled down. With eBay's release of their new eBay Partner Network you'll need to update your sites anyway.

BTW all the templates from BANS 2 work with BANS 3 with a simple CSS update. :)

The neat thing about BANS 3 is that it has a lot of the features I was customizing my stores for, such as cloaked links and site maps. Now if they would only roll in dynamic h1 tags I'd be all set...

[charter]

Does BANS offer anything besides eBay?

[potentmix]

Does BANS offer anything besides eBay?
Not at present.

[cylai]

Although BANS build your site around eBay affiliate link, it never hurt to put up adsense!

[decodethis]

Does BANS offer anything besides eBay?

I would love for BANS to support other affiliate products, such as Clickbank or more of CJ, but at this point I don't think there are plans for this to happen.

It's a pretty efficient tool for presenting eBay listings though, and I always believe in reinforcing your strengths. :)

[cylai]

Generally BANS converts better than other datafeed website as people like to shop at eBay and love bargains!

[Trisha]

I bought BANS yesterday and it looked very easy until it came to editing the stylesheets and I got error messages. I looked in the user manual and lo and behold you have to look at the instructions in the forum. I went to the forum and then realised that I'd had to create so many usernames and passwords that I'd forgotten which one I'd used for the forum. I've now had to submit a support ticket as it's impossible to retrieve a password if you've forgotten your username. This is the most frustrating thing about BANS. Something as basic as editing templates should be included in the user manual.

[cylai]

They should get back to you pretty soon.

Just wondering what are you promoting? I'd suggest promote something that is hot selling, you can get some good ideas via eBay pulse.

[decodethis]

If you're having errors editing the style sheet (or any template file) double check that you uploaded the .htaccess file to the root of the web site. Also make sure your files aren't read only. I've had that specific issue before...

[john247]

excellent article - I will be applying now

[mikeyj]

I've been a CJ publisher for a while, and can't find a generic ebay.com entry in the advertiser list. What am I missing?

I see:

ProStores - an eBay Company

eBay Stores

Reseller Marketplace


...but none of these sound like what y'all are discussing. Am I missing something completely obvious?

[christian231]

I've been a CJ publisher for a while, and can't find a generic ebay.com entry in the advertiser list. What am I missing?

I see:

ProStores - an eBay Company

eBay Stores

Reseller Marketplace


...but none of these sound like what y'all are discussing. Am I missing something completely obvious?

To implement BANS you now need to sign up with Ebay's in house affiliate program here...https://www.ebaypartnernetwork.com. CJ will no longer be handling Ebay's affiliate program after the end of May. Sign up with the EPN, create your campaign numbers and enter those into your BANS store setup pages.

[cylai]

Seem like EPN still ahve the same practise as CJ, they auto-reject affiliates from certain countries.

[mcjp6]

same practise as CJ, they auto-reject affiliates from certain countries.

CJ does not reject you from merchant programs, it is the merchant that rejects you.

[cylai]

Ops i guess you are right. Just wanna let you know that a dear john appeal letter didn't help either.
This is why I have a US partner.

[thetazzbot]

And last but not least:

"Where can I Buy BANS Cheapest?"

http://www.johnnyforex.com/build-a-niche-store-ebay-affiliate-program/

That is, after the $22 rebate

[cylai]

be careful of the rebate thingy. it won't be long before Clickbank shuts down your affiliate account as they dont like this practise. it is clearly stated in their TOS.

[decodethis]

It's dangerous anyway since chargebacks can ruin your day.

[Bibitte]

Hello to all. I just found out about BAN website builders. I am tempted to take the plunge but before doing so, I have a question which I would like to have answered. I am confused between:

“Step 1: Choose Your Country

Your country choice will determine which specific eBay marketplace products you will be marketing. (I guess the commission is based on which country --ebay.com, ebay.co.uk, ebay.ca and ebay.com.au)
“

and

“The 12 eBay marketplaces that BANS currently supports (Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Spain, France, India, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States) hold a combined product inventory of over 60 million products”

Basically I am from Canada, would like to setup with Ebay.com (for higher commision) with products listed in Ebay from different countries.

I know something is wrong in that sentence but what?

Thanks for your advice.

Bibitte

[cylai]

You can promote eBay offers from other countries even if you are not from there.

[contend]

Is it possible to use BANs for cj.com affiliates except ebay ? I need to create handbag store, and I'm using another advertiser, not ebay ! Can it be done ?

[potentmix]

Is it possible to use BANs for cj.com affiliates except ebay ? I need to create handbag store, and I'm using another advertiser, not ebay ! Can it be done ?

No. BANS does not have that capability. It's limited, at present, to EPN.

[cylai]

if you wish, u can add in other affliate offers or adsense into your BANS site.

[libra212]

I would like to try BANS. With the launch of EPN I was able to get accepted into almost all the progams, when previously I was rejected for the U.S. But now I am seeing a lot of complaints about EPN not functioning/tracking properly.

My question is are BANS sites being adversely affected by the change to EPN?
Secondly, is it worthwhile to get BANS now or is it wiser to wait and see how things work out with EPN?

[potentmix]

You're probably not interested in losing money, or leaving money on the table. I wouldn't worry about what EPN is or is not doing. I consider BANS to be a terrific platform to use if you're not particularly savvy about programming. There was just a new update, and it's working well, and, IMO, unaffected by EPN other than category # changes which have just been updated in the latest BANS version.

Like any other platform or web design and layout, BANS requires a working knowledge of website development, including the use of unique content and SEO. I'ts a time saver, but, for the long haul, only as good as what you put into it. The real work comes after you have the site up and running, just as with any other site.

I acquired BANS and began working with it just after the first of this year. I've recovered my initial investment many times over. I'm having my best month, so far. Get it now, there's no time to lose.

[cylai]

I agree with potentmix. BANS is a site builder that helps you to set up eBay affiliate websites quickly and easily. however, you have to work to make it work.

[purdue512]

I agree also. It is a solid platform.. But as with ANY tool - it is just a tool. You have do the lifting...

Think of it this way: Does a hammer nail in the nail for you? No. You need to swing it. It's your muscle, combined with the tool, that gets the job done. Learn to use a tool correctly, and you will be happy with the results of the project.

Same holds true here as it does in building a house. :-)

[soggy]

BANS works! Plain and simply but you must work it as others have said.

[libra212]

Thanks for your responses. From what I've read I'm pretty much persuaded that BANS is a good program. But what I am really thinking is BANS is good only for EPN and if EPN is experiencing problems with affiliates, then is this a good time to try BANS. Have not a number of BANS users found that EPN is still not up to scratch?

[decodethis]

I just received an email from the BANS people today about them working with the PepperJam (www.pepperjamnetwork.com) people to put out a version of BANS that supports that network instead of EPN. The payout looks to be the same rate, but time will tell if it's actually more profitable in the long run.

Like all BANS updates the new code to support the PepperJam Network is free.