Secrets to Start a Successful Ebay Business

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 every- thing from porcelain dolls to locks of Elvis’ hair to 100,000 Mercedes convertibles to 5 million dollar vacation homes

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 1,000 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.