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The Secret To Real eBay Success
Q. I hear so much about people who started selling on eBay and eventually turned it into their full time business. Is it really possible to build a profitable business just selling junk on eBay? -- Alex K. ANSWER: If Fred Sanford were alive today, Alex, I'm sure he'd be earning his ripple money by selling quality junk on eBay. While it's also true that one man's junk is another man's treasure (I have a garage full of treasure to prove this point), your chances of building a profitable business selling "junk" on eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter) are slim to none. While there is a lot of junk/treasure for sale on eBay, it is typically sold by individuals who have "I break for yardsales!" bumper stickers on their cars and not serious business people. For serious entrepreneurs, however, selling on eBay can be a good way to start a new business if you are willing to put in the time and energy required to make the business a success. eBay is also a good option for existing businesses to expand their reach by selling online. Everyone from small used car dealers to giant companies like Dell Computers have discovered that eBay is an excellent place to hawk their wares simply due to the huge number of folks who visit the eBay site on a daily basis. Nowhere else on earth will you find such a large pool of potential customers. Consider these numbers: There are nearly 69 million eBay users who spend $59 million every day. Most eBay sellers are home-based businesses that sell everything from porcelain dolls to locks of Elvis' hair to $100,000 Mercedes convertibles to $5 million dollar vacation homes. Every minute of every day more than 150 new items are listed for sale, more than 500 bids are placed, and seven new people register to shop on eBay. At any given moment, eBay is conducting some 12 million auctions, divided into about 18,000 different categories About two million new items are offered for sale every day, and 62 million registered users scour the site to find them. One company is grossing more than $5 million dollars a year selling brand new pool tables on eBay. Their eBay store is so profitable that they have closed their retail location and now sell solely online.That's right, $5 million dollars from the sale of pool tables: proof that you can sell just about anything on eBay if you know how to do it. Be aware, however, that eBay is no magic bullet. As any eBay Power Seller (a seller who sells a minimum of $10,000 in goods per month) will tell you, building a profitable eBay business takes hard work and requires long hours, and often the financial rewards do not make it worth the effort spent. When it comes down to the mechanics of it all, running an eBay business is no different than running a brick and mortar business. You still have the same considerations regarding product selection, inventory purchasing, product pricing, inventory management, order processing, fulfillment, customer service, etc. You must also consider the legal and accounting aspects of the business. Just because you're selling online does not mean that Uncle Sam won't expect his piece of the pie. Revenue generated by an eBay business is just as reportable and taxable as revenue generated from a brick and mortar store. And if you sell to customers within your state you may also be responsible for collecting city, county or state sales tax. One of the biggest obstacles to building a successful eBay business may be the stiffness of the competition. Many sellers sell identical items and the price wars often get ugly, but that's to be expected in a free market place, which is exactly what eBay is. You may be the only store in town that's selling that one of a kind, custom made just for you, broke the mold after they made it, Dale Earnhart Memorial Bobble Head Action Figure (Earnhart fans would string me up if I called it a Doll), but do a quick search on eBay and you'll probably find a hundred others just like it. So, can you build a profitable business selling on eBay? Certainly, thousands of people have done it and so can you. Here are a few tips to help get you started. Sell Quality Products Don't sell junk! Leave the knick-knacks and fake leather jackets to the less informed. You should offer only quality products at a fair price. Research The Competition Once you have your product in mind, don't invest a dime on inventory until you have spent some time on eBay to see what the competition is doing. If you want to sell motorcycle helmets, for example, you should look at current auctions to see how many others are selling similar helmets and what prices they are charging. This step is vital since you may discover that you can't compete with current sellers on price or there is simply no market for what you have to offer. Start Slowly Many people believe that the more items they have for sale on eBay the better. They will invest thousands in inventory and spent hundreds on listing fees (yes, eBay charges you to list items for sale and collects a final fee if the item sells). Those are the folks that usually end up with ten thousand Ginsu knives forever in their garage. Test, Test, Test A fair portion of eBay auctions result in no sales, so it's best to test the waters before jumping in with both feet. List a few items and see how they sell. If an item doesn't sell, list it at least twice more. Some items might not sell the first time, but may the second or third, then sell steadily from then on. If an item gets no bids the first time, consider adjusting your price or your terms. If an item sells well, keep it in stock and then experiment with another item. Do Your Homework eBay is too broad a subject to be covered fully here, but there are a multitude of books available that can help you start an eBay business. In fact, I bet you'll find most of them for sale at this very moment at eBay. What's my bid? Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneurand syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets"and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!"Related Links:http://www.smallbusinessqa.comhttp://www.dropshipwholesale.net
MORE RESOURCES: N.J. county to auction surplus vehicles, equipment, electronics. See full list, minimum bids. NJ.com The Photograph Collector – The auctions The Eye of Photography Warren Co. surplus auction ends soon. How to bid on trucks, buses, more before it closes. lehighvalleylive Bing Crosby’s Grand Piano From ‘High Society’ and Other Items From the Crooner’s Home to Sell at Auction Mansion Global Museum Club's contents scheduled for auction on Nov. 8 Arizona Daily Sun 60+ collector cars: Broad Arrow Auctions to offer Ferrari, Jaguar, Bugatti at Zürich Auction Nov 1 Stock Titan Edison, Middlesex County auctioning off vehicles, furniture, equipment and more Central New Jersey News What's up for grabs at the Zanesville Police Department's impound lot? Zanesville Times Recorder The Hispanic Society Museum Prepares to Auction Off 45 Works in Its Collection, and Other News surfacemag.com Every vehicle at the ZPD's auction has a story behind it, from 'misdemeanors to murders' Zanesville Times Recorder Matt Baker's "Party Girl" Cover, True Love Pictorial #5 Up for Auction Bleeding Cool News Wait, what? Ford to put up for auction 2006 GT with no minimum price and $800,000+ value Shifting Gears with Phoebe Wall Howard The Walking Dead Auctions Off Rick’s Hat, Lucille & More in Huge Memorabilia Sale LIVING LIFE FEARLESS What's up for sale at the Zanesville Police Department's Oct. 18 auction? Take a look Zanesville Times Recorder Cars at Richmond Auctions; Events Aid Women’s Health, Animals & More - In The Know 10-12 Greenville Online The Nikola Tesla-Inspired Debut of The Masked Marvel, Up for Auction Bleeding Cool News News Flash • Notice of Sale of Real Estate LENAWEE.MI.us January auction set for Green Mountain Race Track property in Pownal, Vt. The Berkshire Eagle What The Google Trial Is Missing: Data, Not Auctions, Will Decide The Fate Of The Open Web AdExchanger Before Plastic Man: Jack Cole's Silver Streak Debuts in #3, at Auction Bleeding Cool News Broad Arrow Auctions Achieves €26 Million in Sales at Inaugural Zoute Concours Auction Quiver Quantitative Regions Bank building complex in downtown Shreveport is up for auction at Sheriff's Sale Shreveport Times David Dike Fine Art Announces Fall Auction Art & Object You could score a killer deal on a YT bike — or a goat head — at auction Singletracks Mountain Bike News Gooding Christie’s Strengthens European Expansion With Key Appointments Ahead of Paris Auction Motorious Hudson’s Bay will auction off thousands of art pieces and artifacts. Here’s how you can get a piece of the history The Globe and Mail Silent Auction Fundraiser at Glenmere Brewing Company www.warwickadvertiser.com St. Louis Center Announces 38th Annual Fall Dinner Auction The Sun Times News Germany raises €2.5B in dual 30-year bond auctions breakingthenews.net Einstein’s fiddle makes over £1 million at auction Just Collecting Chicago Blackhawks celebrate 100 years with record-breaking centennial charity auction FOX 32 Chicago Robinhood, Udemy, ACV Auctions, eHealth, and EverQuote Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know Yahoo Finance A Historic Tiara With Ties to Queen Elizabeth Is Going Up for Auction Town & Country Magazine CorvSport Original, In The Ring, E7: Do No-Reserve Corvette Auctions Fetch More Money? CorvSport.com Cruisin’ for a cause: Coast nonprofit auctions restored Volkswagen to fund addiction recovery - WLOX 1989 Ford Probe GT 5-Speed With 60K Miles Up For Auction Ford Authority €26.29M total sales — Broad Arrow Auctions' inaugural Zoute Auction nets 78% sell-through Stock Titan Blythe Russo Auctions Rights To Debut Graphic Novel, Dessert Island Bleeding Cool News Lackluster EU Gas Capacity Auctions Hinder Supplies to Ukraine energyintel.com Better than Black Friday, auction set for Saturday Sequoyah County Times Gober Community Club Hosts Annual Fall Festival and Auction in Gober, Texas, USA, Celebrating Rural Traditions with Food, Games, and Fundraising: Check It Out Now Travel And Tour World Auction expert sees continued demand for farmland Farm Progress Mysterious company wins Marineland Dolphin Adventure auction with $7.1M bid Daytona Beach News-Journal This super rare Ford will be up for auction for first time ever at Arizona event The Arizona Republic Ford Will Auction off a Special Member of Its Prized Heritage Fleet for the First Time Ever Car and Driver Cedar Valley Makers look to raise funds, awareness with auction and open house Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier INAUGURAL ZOUTE AUCTION ACHIEVES OVER €26M IN TOTAL SALES AND 78 PERCENT SELL-THROUGH RATE GlobeNewswire ‘Oh He's Over There Massaging Cars’ — Car Dealer Reveals His Secrets When Buying at Manheim Auto Auctions MotorBiscuit |
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