Start an Easy Home Business: Become an Ebay Trading Assistant

EBay's online auctions have created business opportunities for thousands of people. Now the Trading Assistant program is making it easier than ever to start a business from home.

Trading Assistants act as brokers, selling merchandise for others and keeping a percentage of the profits. The profit potential can be great, especially when selling high-value items.

Though there are millions of registered users on eBay, many people still don't know how to sell goods themselves. A Trading Assistant fills a need in the marketplace, allowing you to make a profit while helping others unload their stuff. Almost everyone has a box of items in their garage or closet that they would like to sell.

Getting Started

You will need to decide what types of products you are willing to sell and may want to set a minimum value on merchandise you accept. It can be difficult to make a profit on $5 items so many assistants require the products have a minimum estimated sales value of $10 or $20.

Most assistants set their fees between 20%-40% of the ending auction price. You may also want to charge a per-item listing fee of $1-$5, and possibly deduct this from the commission if the auction ends successfully.

As a Trading Assistant, you will list the item for sale, handle all buyer questions, collect payment and shipping fees from the buyer and ship the item. You may also need to do some research on your customers' items to determine their value. Search the closed listings to find out what similar items have sold for and list your auctions accordingly.

You should create a simple contract that your customers sign to indicate that they agree to your services and fees. You can check out the competition in your area to determine what services other Assistants are offering and how they are structuring their fees. Check eBay's directory by zip code at http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?TradingAssistant&page=main.

You will also need to decide how to obtain the items from your seller. You could offer a pickup service, visit customers' homes and complete a contract there. Or you can offer a drop-off service, where customers bring their items to you. Many assistants operate from their garage so buyers don't have to enter their homes.

Promote Your Business on Ebay

Ebay offers a directory of Trading Assistants that consumers can use to locate services in their geographic area. To get listed in the official Trading Assistant program, eBay requires that you have a feedback rating of at least 50, have sold at least one item in the past 30 days, and maintain satisfaction rating of 97% or higher.

A listing in the official directory is free and you can also download best practices information and other tools from eBay at http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?TradingAssistant&page=toolkit.

Other Ways to Promote Your Business

Here are some ideas for getting the word out about your service:

?Create a simple brochure and ask nearby businesses to display them for you.

?Leave brochures or fliers on doorsteps in your neighborhood.

?Place classified ads in the local newspapers.

?Place free classified ads on www.craigslist.org.

?Contact small business owners and offer your services to them. They may want to unload their overstock and your service could provide the perfect solution.

?Post fliers and brochures at colleges, retirement centers, and community centers.

?Ask your kid's school to mention your service in the newsletter.

?Visit garage sales and flea markets and offer your services to sellers.

Launch Your Business

Make sure you follow the rules of running a home-based business and check with your county offices to apply for a business license and resale permit. Though online sales are not heavily governed, someday they will be and it is better to comply with business laws.

Also make sure to set expectations with your customers. Since many aren't familiar with how eBay works, explain the process and set realistic expectations for the final values of sales. Some may expect their items to be worth far more than they can get on eBay, and you don't want to disappoint or worse, upset a client by selling an item for less than expected.

If you don't yet have any experience on eBay yourself, it's easy to get started. Begin with some spring cleaning and list some merchandise from your home. Make sure you have a good understanding of how eBay works before you represent your services to others.

A Trading Assistant business is a great opportunity for anyone interested in a relatively easy home business. Once you launch your business, repeat customers and word of mouth should help your business grow. Your only regret could be that you didn't start sooner.

Stephanie Chandler is the author of "The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!" and the founder of http://www.BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of free resources for entrepreneurs. Sign up for the BusinessInfoGuide newsletter to receive hot resources and tips every month.

More Resources

Drop Ship Your Way to eBay Profits
One of the most difficult things to do when looking to start an online business is to find that elusive supplier that will supply you, put simply you need a source of real products to sell. Drop shipping is a perfect way to achieve this and lets you develop the perfect online business.
Start Selling On eBay - Getting Started On The Right Foot
You've started your own eBay business and, even though it's part time right now, you know it's going to become a huge success. You are able to see the day when you can set your own hours, set your own dress code and call your own shots.
Police Auctions & Government Auctions Professional Resource Information
Police Auctions Information:No, a police auction is not where you go to buy a policeman. Most people do not realize that police agencies, including local police departments, county sheriff departments, as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies end up with a lot of confiscated, lost, or abandoned property.
Ebay Auction Selling Secrets - Using Ebay to Launch Your Very Own Highly Successful Website
Launching your very own successful website is the dream of many people worldwide because it is a new way to make money and be employed by oneself with little overhead. So, once you have your website you will need traffic to make it successful.
Making Money On EBay Can Be So Simple, Just Let Somebody Else Do All The Hard Work For You
OK, so you've been bitten by the eBay bug!You've ransacked the attic, the basement and every other room in your home to find things to sell on eBay.When friends and neighbors ask you where everything has gone, you tell them that you're going for the "Minimalist Look".
Online Auctions: 10 Secrets You Should Know Before Bidding At An Online Auction
You may have heard about ebay and other online auctions.You may have participated in some of the biddings.
Effective Auction Listings - How To Create Them
Once you've created the best possible title for your item, you will move on to writing your auction description. Here, you have more space to give a detailed description of the item you are selling in the body of your auction.
The Effects of eBay on American Merchandising
With one brilliantly simple idea, eBay was born just a few short years ago.From its humble beginnings in the Collectibles business, it went on to achieve the lofty heights it enjoys today.
How To Sell Santa's Slip-Ups
Shoppers spent more than $15.5 billion this Christmas on gifts on the Internet alone.
Be Realistic When Selling on eBay
As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience in this area. I know that the vast majority of my customers and subscribers have an interest in trading whether it be on eBay or at the local market but more and more I am seeing people with completely unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to do.
Top 10 Free Online Wholesale Resources
By the time that a product has made it to your local retail store, it's probably changed at least three people's hands, possibly even more than that. And each one of those people had to mark up the cost of the item to cover their investment and make a profit.
Your eBay Username - What Does It Say About You?
Have you tried to register a decent eBay username and been frustrated at the poor names left available? With over 125 million people using eBay in 2004 it is understandable that a lot of the good ones have gone.How important is registering a good eBay username (User ID) anyway? Well that depends - you may be wanting to register a username for business use so getting the right one would be important.
Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - EBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help
Yesterday I saw a mention in someone's email ezine about a kind person who had an eBay auction with the proceeds going 100% to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina.It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up something similar, but found that the "eBay Giving Works" charity program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers.
The Webs Best Online Auction Sites
The best online auction links for buyers and sellers are - not surprisingly - eBay, eBay and eBay. eBay began the entire wacky world of online auctions back on the Labor Day weekend of 1995.
How To Compete With Amazon.com
If you are selling online,here is the down side of our business..
Affordable Online Car Auctions
Still hunting for the car of your dreams? Public car auctions online are becoming a happy hunting ground for car aficionados for they bring you a huge selection of affordable cars in various models at unbelievable prices.With online car auctions you can buy a new car at prices, which are quite less than the manufacturer's price in the retail showroom.
How to Survive the Jungles of Ebay Selling
Come with me, we are going to take a safari into the jungles of eBay selling, sometimes wrought with danger but most often rewarded with treasure.Beware of non-paying bidders, beware of auction snipers waiting to try and steal your eBay auction at a very low bid, but welcome the loot you will receive selling outdated relics in your house for a small kings ransom.
7 Great Reasons Why You Should Start an EBay Business Today
EBay is a great part or full time business. An Ebay Business can be used as a way to promote your Online Home Based Business.
EBay Income Possibilities
If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual to hear of people making thousands of dollars per month on eBay.Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers there are: you'll find quite a few.
Online Auction Sellers - Seize Control Of Your Business!
As the online auction model of business continues to evolve toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is time for online auction sellers to seize control of their business, before it's too late.In this article we will highlight some effective steps you can take to shift control back to your own business.

More Auction Information:

Related Articles

Killer Tips To Succeed With eBay Auction
For just a moment, try to comprehend the power of the Internet. Every day, there are millions of people from around the globe "surfing the web.
Selling on Ebay-Get Started in 7 Easy Steps
Ebay auctions are definitely the easiest and fastest way to start earning money online. Ebay.
Online Auctions Business
Online auction sites are a great way to find a bargain on almost anything and an excellent way of getting the best price for selling something of your own. Online auctions are different from their real-world counterparts.
How To Find Tons of Hot Items Selling On EBay ...In Less Than 10 Minutes
There are many ways to start a home business online, and few are easier than eBay - the world's largest online auction site. However, there is one critical condition - you have to know what to sell and how to sell it.
An Emerging Market in eBay Consignments: The eBay Trading Post (Part II In A Series)
In 2002, the eBay consignments business was born, referred to by eBay as the Trading Assistant Program.It's possible that eBay didn't foresee just how much they would benefit form their eBay consignments program.
Fundraising Ideas Using eBay
Have you thought of using the online auction site eBay as your next major fundraiser?I have, and it was a huge success!Like many other businesses the fundraising business has seen an incredible change since the internet. Everyday there are new tools, softwares and websites that are making fundraising not only easier but a lot more fun.
Dropshipping on eBay, Does It Work?
eBay offers any business owner a new global market to sell his products or services on. You are no longer constrained by geographical positioning.
Taxing Your eBay Profits
As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year's resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year.
Doing It eBay: An eBay Business Means Fun and Profits in a Global Marketplace
In 1995, when Pierre Omidyar introduced an online business venue that was essentially a virtual garage sale with auction pricing, no one knew a retailing revolution was about to occur. That site became known as eBay, and it's hard to find someone today who hasn't at least heard about the popular online auction company.
The Top Sellers On eBay & What We Can Learn From Them
A fascinating eBay case study is the number one seller on eBay, a little outfit called Marie's CDs, but is better known under its old name "1 Cent CD." Jay and Marie, current ID "jayandmarie", are an institution on eBay and are a big part of what makes eBay such an amazingly popular phenomenon.
10 Tips to Starting a Financially Successful Ebay Business Startting Right Now
Ebay is Perhaps the easiest and fastest way to start a home based online business. Here are 10 Tips to starting a Successful Ebay Business1 - Become an Ebay ShopperBuy a Few things on Ebay.
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.
2 Step Secret Reveals How You Can Find Wholesale Suppliers
Have you spent hours on the internet searching for a viable wholesale source? I did. I spent money on self-professed in-depth Wholesale Supplier directories and membership sites.
Boosting Your EBay Auction Profits: Just Add Audio
According to a recent report, adding audio to your eBay auctions could increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio.A recent trend showing up on a lot of websites is the addition of an audio clip.
Why 95% of All eBay Sellers Fail
eBay is now the 8th most visited site on the internet and it has just one purpose - sales. With 40 million visitors per month most eBay sellers are missing a golden opportunity.
Auctions Make Money!
An untapped online business resource--outside of your basic Yahoo and Ebay, among others--is setting up your own auction sales venue.Since most families have items in their home that have outlived their usefulness, they can get started at online auctions for mere pennies.
Dropship Your Way To Ebusiness Success
Q: I would like to start my own eBay business, but I really don't want to invest in a ton of inventory until I can get a better handle on what might or might not sell. I read another column about dropshipping, but I'm still a little fuzzy on how the whole process works.
Seven Steps to eBay Selling Success
More and more people try their luck at selling on eBay everyday. With all of that growing competition it is important that you do everything possible to make sure that you stand out from the crowd.
Is it Antique and is it Worth Anything?
Is it an antique and is it worth anything?Would you know?At some point in our lives most of us are going to put in a position where we have to ask ourselves the question-Which of my treasured possesions should I keep because they might be worth something and which can I throw away?Would you know??We start our own homes full of enthusiasm and with all the lovely clutter that makes up our lives and that of the family, but as time goes on, the children leave home, we decide to move to a smaller house or maybe we decide to live abroad. At that stage we have to decide what to keep and what to part with.
eBay Consignments: The Giant Opportunity Hiding on eBay (Part I)
More and more, people are becoming aware that they have potential cash sitting in their closets, attics, and basements. But not everyone has the time or the know-how to tap into it, so these items remain where they are or are given away.