ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Doing It eBay: An eBay Business Means Fun and Profits in a Global Marketplace
In 1995, when Pierre Omidyar introduced an online business venue that was essentially a virtual garage sale with auction pricing, no one knew a retailing revolution was about to occur. That site became known as eBay, and it's hard to find someone today who hasn't at least heard about the popular online auction company. What's important to understand from the start is that eBay is a sales channel that you can use exclusively or in addition to selling through a retail operation, mail order catalog, independent Web site, or network of direct salespeople. You decide the type of business you want to have, what type of merchandise you're going to sell, and how you're going to operate. To sell on eBay, you'll pay a listing fee to post your merchandise and a final value fee (a small percentage of the sale price) when the item sells. For the current eBay fee schedule, check the eBay site. What can you sell on eBay? Though eBay is a popular place for the sale of used items ranging from high-dollar antiques to second-hand junk, it's also a venue for brand-new, up-to-the-minute merchandise of all types and in all price ranges. Deciding what to sell on eBay can be particularly challenging because your options are virtually limitless. Some of the more popular categories of items are cars, computers, consumer electronics, books, movies, music, sports items, collectibles, clothing and accessories. As you take the first step of deciding what to sell on eBay, keep these points in mind: · Have an interest in the product. Don't choose a product based on potential profits alone; be sure it's something you'll enjoy working with. · Cost and sale price. How much will the item cost you and how much can you reasonably expect to sell it for? · Availability. Is the merchandise readily available or will you risk having to deal with supply problems? · Storage. Do you have room to store the merchandise? · Packing and shipping. Consider what is involved in packing and shipping the merchandise. Even though the buyer typically pays the shipping costs, think about your labor, time, and potential breakage. · Seasonal issues. Will the item sell year-round or be subject to seasonal fluctuations? How do you sell on eBay? You have a variety of ways to sell on eBay. In addition to the traditional basic auction, where you post your item with a starting price and wait for bidders to drive the price up, you can use a number of other pricing features and auction types. In addition to auctions, you can also set up your own eBay store, which will allow you to sell auction and fixed-price merchandise from your special location on eBay. You'll pay a monthly fee based on the level of store services you want, plus additional fees for items listed and sold. The technical side of eBay eBay has evolved into one of the most user-friendly sites on the Internet. Getting set up as a user is a simple process that you can complete in just a few minutes. You will be required to provide your name, address, e-mail, and telephone number, as well as a credit card number and your checking account information. eBay uses this information to confirm your identity, which protects the integrity of their operation, and to collect auction fees. If your contact information changes, be sure to notify eBay immediately. You must register to buy or sell on eBay, but you can browse around the site without registering. Before you do any business on eBay, take the time to get to know the site. Set aside several hours to get online and browse around, study listings, read the help pages, understand the various tools and how you can use them, check out the forums, and get comfortable with how the site works. Once your business is up and running, you'll probably want to consider using supplemental auction management software, which will save time and money, make you more efficient, and improve the level of customer service you offer. Getting started as an eBay seller Start off by buying a few things, then start selling, posting just one or two auctions at a time until you're comfortable with how the process works. You'll make mistakes, especially in the beginning, but if you learn from them they'll be worth the cost. Keep in mind that eBay is ever-changing. As the economy cycles, you'll experience changes in pricing and demand. And as more people start operating on eBay, the competition will increase and prices may decline slightly (great when you're buying, but not when you're selling). If you plan to make selling on eBay a full-time business, expect to work hard. Though there is plenty of money to be made on eBay, it's not a get-rich-quick or easy deal. You'll invest as much time and energy as you would in a traditional retail operation--but your potential for profits is greater. Don't be intimated by the sheer size of the operation, and keep in mind that eBay has reached less than ten percent of its potential market-which means there is plenty of room for you. So find your eBay niche, get online, and watch your business grow. Jacquelyn Lynn is the co-author of Make Big Profits on eBay: Start Your Own Million $ Business (with Charlene Davis, Entrepreneur Press, 2005) and the author of Start Your Own Business on eBay, plus nine other titles in Entrepreneur's Start-Up Guide Series. For more information, visit http://www.jacquelynlynn.com
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Low Cost, High Profit Dream Products To Sell on eBay and Amazon Finding quality products to sell is the key to continuing success. Keeping a pipeline of low cost, fast moving items to sell is also a must. Sometimes it takes weeks of searching to find a load of quality electronics or computer equipment that you can sell online at double your cost. I'm sure you agree that this is a very good rate of return. The problem is that you may have to outlay several thousand dollars to buy the inventory. If you are new to online selling and would like to pick up high quality, easy to ship products for pennies, read on. Police Auctions & Government Auctions Professional Resource Information Police Auctions Information: The Benefits of Buying and Selling Locally Shop at a flea market in Oaxaca, Mexico. Trade with a vendor in London, England. Or sport your wares to collectors in Geneva, Switzerland. You can virtually do just that when you shop or sell goods at an online auction site. You know those global auction Web sites, the ones that allow you to bid on thousands of items against millions of other competitors. Sure, they allow you to expand your world and uncover cool knickknacks from around the world. But these very same sites also open the door to you getting ripped off by someone four thousand miles away. More than 8 billion dollars were spent on auction sites in the last three months of last year, but how many dollars were lost along the way? Online Auctions Business Online auction sites are a great way to find a bargain on almost anything and an excellent way of getting the best price for selling something of your own. Online auctions are different from their real-world counterparts. You are free to take your time browsing the listings and bidding takes place over a period of days rather than minutes. Online Auctions offer good opportunity for anyone wishing to start an online business for a number of reasons. If you feel you have the persistence necessary to run your own successful business, this is one opportunity you should consider. Use Auction Templates For eBay Success! Auction templates are simply a must for successful online auction selling. One day I spent approximately 45 minutes writing a listing for an item that would make me about $5 in profit! I suddenly realized the stupidity of what I was doing. Here I was scheming and plotting to become a net millionaire - and I could work at WalMart and make more money than this! Be Realistic When Selling on eBay As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience in this area. I know that the vast majority of my customers and subscribers have an interest in trading whether it be on eBay or at the local market but more and more I am seeing people with completely unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to do. Most commonly these unrealistic expectations are in respect of how much it actually costs to purchase specific products and what they can then be sold on for. Is it Antique and is it Worth Anything? Is it an antique and is it worth anything? Would you know? Selling on eBay - Have You Found the Magic Formula Yet? Selling on eBay can be very profitable and a great way to make some cash while clearing your house of unwanted items at the same time. It's quite simple, just describe and photograph your items and seven to ten days later you'll get a payment though paypal or by cheque posted to you. How To Find REAL Wholesale Dropshippers For Almost Any Product With more and more people getting online, many of them are searching for information on specific products that they are interested in purchasing. The Effects of eBay on American Merchandising With one brilliantly simple idea, eBay was born just a few short years ago. Six Steps Towards Successful Buying at eBay Auctions Buying on eBay can be very rewarding, either in terms of being able to pick up items cheaply or for hunting for hard to find items. Although generally the experience is good, there are instances where things can go badly wrong. These tips, based on experience over the last seven years, should help to avoid some of the potential pitfalls. Boosting Your EBay Auction Profits: Just Add Audio According to a recent report, adding audio to your eBay auctions could increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio. eBay Auction Bidding Strategies--Overcoming the most Frustrating Situation on eBay The Problem... Taxing Your eBay Profits As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year's resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year. Auction Image Hosting for Ebay Auctions: Free Single Most Recommended Tip It is a well known fact that the more pictures taken of an item, the better it will sell. Not only will you get more bids, but you will make a superior final profit. This is probably why this tip is the single most given tip when it comes to ebay. How to Win on eBay I've bought over 100 items on eBay over three years and am ready to share my knowledge of how to win at eBay and buy from reputable sellers. Get More for Your Money Shopping for Designer Shoes on eBay The worlds online market place. eBay - Tapping Into The Japanese Collector Market If you owned a skateboard shop in your local mall would you put a big sign in the window saying "No Baggy Pants Allowed"? Of course not. If you did you would be eliminating 50% or more of your most avid potential customers. Online Auction Fraud eBay sales may have grown 51% last year over the previous year, but general online complaints jumped by 66.6% over the previous year to some 207,000+ complaints in 2004. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), stated in its yearly report that 71.2% of all complaints received pertained to auctions. Fed Up With eBay? For many people, their first experience of working online involves selling products on eBay. This was how I got started back in 1998 and I know countless other people that have done the same.
|
|
|
|
|
