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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:

Auctions - Google News

Will they or won't they? - Sydney Morning Herald


Will they or won't they?
Sydney Morning Herald
The clearance rate was 58 per cent for the 101 auction results reported to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. The outcome of another 36 sales is still unknown. Many commentators are tipping the RBA will cut rates by 0.25 percentage points.

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Market middle ground proving elusive - Sydney Morning Herald


Sydney Morning Herald

Market middle ground proving elusive
Sydney Morning Herald
Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca said the level of new stock coming onto the market for February was surprisingly high. ''We've got 10-15 per cent increases in stock levels for the first few weeks of February compared with ...

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Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction - The Journal News | LoHud.com


Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction
The Journal News | LoHud.com
Its owner — international real estate developer Neill Bernstein, dubbed “Cape Town's Donald Trump” — has lived there for several years but now is returning home to South Africa. Misha Haghani, founder of Paramount Realty USA, is handling the auction ...

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Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now - Arizona Daily Star


Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now
Arizona Daily Star
Starr Pass Resort Developments, the owner, took on the debt before the real estate bubble burst and the property, which opened in 2005, was only just getting its footing when business and leisure travel screeched to a near halt.

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Fannie Mae's Fire Sale - Barron's


Credit Union Times

Fannie Mae's Fire Sale
Barron's
How to buy a cut-rate rental property. Fire sale! The Federal Housing Finance Agency has approved a big residential real-estate auction at Fannie Mae to help the mortgage giant unload its inventory of 122616 foreclosed houses. For the first time, ...
Tales from the Field: A Homeowner Who Fought Foreclosure and WonRisMedia.com (press release)

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Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The auction will be conducted in cooperation with Rivers To Peaks Real Estate ~ Big Sky Real Estate. "The seller developed these idyllic vacation homes ideally situated in the heart of the most luxurious amenities these communities offer," stated ...

and more »

Gold Coast back on the road to paradise - The Australian


Gold Coast back on the road to paradise
The Australian
It was - as she told her children - excellent shopping when the biggest single auction of real estate nationally was held on the Gold Coast last weekend. And the buyers, many of whom had flown in from interstate, were out in force picking up properties ...

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Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction - Wicked Local


Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction
Wicked Local
The twice-postponed auctions drew a mixed crowd of lawyers, real estate brokers, neighbors and a town planning board member. The motels have been the focus of a civil lawsuit for more than a year. The town sued the motels' former owner for violating ...

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JP King to Serve on Panels at Upcoming Conferences for Financial Solutions ... - MarketWatch (press release)


JP King to Serve on Panels at Upcoming Conferences for Financial Solutions ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Being the nation's oldest real estate auction marketing firm, JP King is frequently requested for speaking engagements and has accepted several of those opportunities in the coming weeks, the first of which begins today. "When I first came into the ...

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Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ...
MarketWatch (press release)
24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Concierge Auctions, the nation's preeminent luxury real estate auction firm, auctioned high-end properties throughout 15 states in 2011. The year proved successful for the NYC-based company, as the firm produced a ...

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