Get Yourself A Piece of The eBay Pie
Ebay is without a doubt the greatest internet marketing phenomenon of all time. Millions of people log on every minute and every second there are hundreds of items listed, sold and bought, and of course money is made. It has become the world's largest marketplace, where the potential for selling an item is exponentially increased due to the sheer volume of people who can view the item for sale.
The attraction Ebay holds for the most people is the possibility of selling or buying anonymously, and getting a great bargain. And for the first time ordinary people are making extraordinary incomes selling literally everything from beanie babies to diamond rings and cars. For those who venture out of their comfort zones into the cybermarket place, the following may com in handy as a guide to selling on Ebay:
A. RESEARCH WHAT IS LIKELY TO SELL, DON'T JUST SELL ANYHTING
Contrary to what you might think, not everything sells on Ebay. Your success on Ebay depends on selling what people want and need, and what they will pay for. You can find this out by browsing closed auctions of items you are interested in selling, see how many bids there were for the item and how high the bid price went. The more bids and the higher the closing price the more successful the auction.
B. ASSESS THE COMPETITION
It's no use selling an item that there are hundreds of thousands to choose from. Your chances of success will be severly diminished. The rarer the item and the fewer the number of people selling the same item the better your chances of making a sale. Find out how many similar items there are for sale by using the search feature on Ebay. Avoid items that are oversupplied and that everybody else is selling.
C. FIND THE CHEAPEST SOURCE OF THE ITEM
The best way to begin is by using a dropshipper. This is a wholesaler who will ship single items on your behalf to your customers and does not charge you a fee to do so. You don't have to keep inventory of the items you sell, and you order the item to be shipped to the buyer after you have sold it on Ebay, thereby reducing your risk to near zero. Remember the principle "Buy low and sell high" That is the key to maximizing your profits.
D. LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE
It is prudent to learn as much as you can about how Ebay works before you start, as there is more to it than meets the eye. There is no surer way to fail than to jump in without doing your homework well and believe me, it is work. If anyone says otherwise they're simply not telling the truth.
E. START WITH A SMALL MONTHLY BUDGET AND STICK TO IT
Don't spend more money that you can afford to lose. As with all businesses it takes time to tweak your skills to perfection. It is very easy to fall prey to internet sharks who promise fantastic returns in a short period of time. It simply does not work that way.
F. GIVE IT TIME
Forget about making a lot of money in a short time. It is slow tedious work,a ndmake some allowances for failure. Don't get discouraged. Find out what works and what does not work and improve yourself as you go along.
© Michael Schandorf-Lartey 2004
http://www.amazingdealz.dropshipdesign.com
Michael Schandorf-Lartey is an internet entrepreneur, and operates a successful wholesale sourcing website that assists internet newcomers to launch their own Ebay businesses. He lives in Clermont, Florida with his wife and three children.