An eBay business is the perfect home business for those wanting to be self employed or to make a little extra money. And for some, it evolves into something much larger. More than 700,000 people make their living by selling on eBay, according to a 2006 entreprenuer.com article. The potential for making money is unlimited, as long as the seller understands how to sell on eBay and how to make sure their business is making money.
Starting an eBay Business
Many people start their eBay business by selling unwanted items from around the house. Everyone has outgrown or out-of-favor clothing in their homes and everyone has items they no longer use and things they bought and then changed their minds about. All of these things are perfect for selling on eBay.
Sign up with the site as a seller. Choose your user ID that you will sell under. The name should be something that portrays you as a legitimate seller who is worthy of trust. Don’t choose profane words or anything that is controversial. The name should be neutral but memorable if you want repeat customers.
eBay Auctions
Listing items is often the most difficult and time-consuming part of an eBay business. Each item should be photographed clearly to show the potential buyers exactly what they are bidding on. Type a comprehensive description into the description box. Include the condition of the item, brand make and model if applicable. Think about everything that a buyer would want to know about the item and include everything that a buyer would want to know.
Some items have stock photos and descriptions, however, and don’t need to be photographed or described in detail. In those cases, simply describe the condition of the item. Write a title that is not a complete sentence. The eBay search function is how most buyers will find the items. To get the most potential buyers, use a string of appropriate keywords as your title.
Running an eBay Business
Keeping eBay auctions running will require the seller to pay attention to the listings that end and deciding what to relist. If an item doesn’t sell, consider rewriting the description to take advantage of better keywords. This will make it rank better in a search engine search as well as making it easier to find in the main eBay search.
When an item does sell, the buyer must pay for the item before it is shipped. The most common methods of payment are money checks, money orders and PayPal. If the buyer pays through PayPal, you will receive a notification of the payment along with the mailing address. The item can be mailed to the buyer right away.
If the buyer chooses to send payment through the mail, it will take longer. A seller must specify in each eBay auction what kind of payments they will accept. Some accept only PayPal, some accept any method or payment and some prefer money orders. If checks or money orders are accepted, it’s important to make sure they clear before shipping the item. There are fake money orders and bad checks that can end up costing a seller if the item is sent before the discovery of fraud is made.
Shipping before a seller begins selling on eBay, they should have a general idea about how to shop items and how much shipping will cost. The shipping costs should be stated in the eBay auction or loaded into eBay’s shipping calculator. This lets buyers know how much the shipping costs will be. Buyers are responsible for paying any shipping cost that is listed on the auction.
Making Money on eBay
Those who make the most money generally sell the most items. There is no limit to how much a person can sell. There are listing fees, however, along with commission fees on every item sold. If the listing fees begin adding up too quickly, consider opening an eBay store. The eBay store listings are extremely inexpensive, though the commission fees are higher.
Pay attention to how much is being sold and how much is going unsold. A high ration of unsold items may mean that there is no profit being made. Go to the My eBay are often to see how much is being sold. Also check the My Account section to see how quickly fees are building up. If the fees are higher than the amount of money being made, it’s time to sell new items. Search the house again and sell what you find, or look for other places to find items to sell.
