Create a Profitable eBay Home Business

My favorite thing about eBay is the simplicity of everything. To get started selling you just setup a free account, enter your title and description, click a few buttons and whatever you have to sell is up on one of the most trafficked sites online.

eBay puts the buyers infront of you. People who go to eBay are there to buy things, they are shopping, looking for a bargain especially in these economic times.

Most other online business startups would require you to invest lots of time or money into getting traffic to your website, were as eBay has already done this for you.

The biggest and really only hurdle there is when selling on eBay is making sure you're selling what people want to buy. It makes no sense to list things no one is paying for, and this is easily discovered with a simple search.

Let's say I see a certain cell phone on eBay that's really popular. I do a search for it, I scroll down and look on the left and see "Search: Completed Auctions" I click that, and I can instantly see what's selling, who's selling it and for how much!

I mean, it doesn't get much better than this. You already know within seconds how much profit there is if you can find a source for the product.

So, maybe you find something and it's selling like crazy but you don't know where to get it cheap, easy just do a search on eBay for "PRODUCT NAME wholesale" or "PRODUCT NAME wholesale lot."

Just like with any business or physical products there's the manufacturer, the distributors and the end user (buyer).

Do You Know This Critical eBay Success Key?

There are many eBay listing elements that are critical to your selling success. But one item in particular can slam the door shut on your auctions success before it even gets started. Have you given this crucial point proper consideration in your listings?

Never underestimate the power of having your auction listed in its' proper category. The correct category listing is of the utmost importance. Many, if not most, bidders use the category system to search for items. If your auction is listed in the wrong category, or worse, in the miscellaneous category 'Everything Else' these bidders won't find your auction.

Finding the proper listing category is not complicated. It can add an extra step to creating your listing which will take a bit more of your time but you will discover that this time is well spent when the bidding closes. eBay can even suggest categories for you when you create your listing. Just type in a few words to describe the item on the category selection page and click 'search'. For the best result be detailed. Enter exactly what your item is, with brand name and model number (if any), so that eBay can select the best category for you.

If you're not pleased with the eBay result you can always search for like items yourself. Try different search words to see which ones produce the most results. For your reference you can also find all of the available listing categories eBay's home page.

Still can't decide exactly which category best fits your listing? eBay has a solution. You can actually list your item in two categories. Of course there is an additional fee for this but the strategic advantage of listing across categories is often worth the extra expense. Keep this option in mind even if selecting your primary listing category is easy.

How to Become an eBay Seller

Selling on eBay and becoming an eBay Seller is much easier than most people think. If you're thinking there's a huge process to get signed up and selling, it really isn't.

First, simply go to eBay and you'll see in the upper left it says "sign in or register" simply click on register. This will take you to a page where you need to enter your personal information (name, address, email phone etc) and create a user ID.

I highly recommend when creating an ID that you don't use your name or something personally identifiable, with identity theft out there it's just another way for someone to find more information about you. So choose something, if you have a business already maybe use the business name or something that describes what you sell (if you already know what you're going to sell).

Coming off as professional is going to play a major roll in your success so make it count.

Once you are done entering your information hit submit and check your email, verify you wanted to setup an account by clicking the link and your account is setup, just one more step.

You'll need a credit card, bank account or Paypal account to be able to pay eBay. So your next step to start selling is to simply put on of them on file with eBay so they can take the fees out automatically.

If you don't feel comfortable with this, get a credit card with a low limit or setup a separate bank account just for eBay.

eBay REALLY wants you to use Paypal since, they make make money when you use it since they own Paypal, so it makes the most sense to setup a Paypal account if you don't have one and use it for fees, since Paypal would also want a credit card or bank account to use, you might as well limit this kind of information to as few sites as possible.

Are You Sending Your eBay Business to an Early Death?

An eBay business is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to make money on the internet. With practically no knowledge of anything you can start selling and making money. But eBay is far from 'idiot proof.' If you don't treat it like a business you will be out of business in a flash. Simple mistakes can be a death sentence for your business. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid at all costs!

*Never exaggerate or hide important information about your product. Always be totally honest. If your customers receive products that are not exactly as described your reputation will quickly be destroyed by feedback comments.

*Don't be slow on shipping. Always send your customers lots out as quickly as possible. The easiest way to make potential customers run away from your auctions is for them to read bad feedback about your shipping times. Never state in your listing that you ONLY ship at particular times such as once a week or twice a month. This exudes negativity and portrays arrogance to your bidders.

*Don't keep your customers in the dark. Always communicate with your bidders and customers. Keep them informed. Not hearing from you makes them wonder if you just took their money and disappeared.

*Don't charge outrageous shipping rates. This is perhaps the biggest single complaint you hear about from eBay bidders. In fact, eBay has stated limits in certain categories to stop gouging by sellers. Always charge reasonable shipping and handling rates and combine shipping to reduce total cost for multiple winners.

*Never publish gaudy or amateurish listings. Stay professional. Don't use animations or flashing lights. Stay away from ALL CAPITALS IN BRIGHT COLORS. Refrain from using music. These may seem like really neat features but ultimately distract from you selling message.

*Don't be negative in your descriptions. Never include language such as "if you don't pay in 7 days we will leave negative feedback and report you to eBay!" or "if your not serious about paying don't waste my time by bidding." The language of your listing is the only contact bidders have with you. If they think you will be a pain to deal with they will just go to some other listing.

How You Can Make Money Buying Items on eBay

Did you know that people everyday are buying products on eBay and selling them for a very good profit. It is really not hard and almost anyone can do it if they know how to follow some simple rules when it comes to purchasing products on this online auction site. Take a look at how you can do it as well and start profiting from this online powerhouse.

One of the most overlook items that you can buy on eBay is motor vehicles and motorcycles. If you sell, you can do so for profit. Go through the listings of vehicles that they have for sale and some very good deals can be found. The reason that you want to look into purchasing vehicles is that many times you can find better deals on eBay than what you can where you live. You may even see people get two or three thousand more for a vehicle by bringing it home and sprucing it up and reselling it. They key is to know exactly what your market can handle and you must also know the asking prices for something comparable.

Want ads are all over the Internet. Buyers are looking for certain product and they will pay top dollar for them. It could be a certain book or a certain item they have been searching for. This is where you come in and some nice profits can be made. If you search on eBay you can find many of these products and you can work out a deal with the person looking for these items. Toss in a good profit margin for yourself and both parties are happy. It is a win-win situation for both people.

Flea markets are another place people go looking for something they just cannot find anywhere else. If you do a search on eBay, you will find a lot of items you can purchase and sell for a nice profit at your local flea market. This is something that more people are doing these days so be warned you could run into some competition doing it. They key is to know what is hot and what people want and what they do not want. This is done by doing plenty of research and seeing what people are buying these days. It can be done, but will take some work on your part.

Buying products on eBay and making money in the offline world with them, as you can see, can be done. The real key is knowing exactly what things cost in your area. Look for the best available price on eBay. You want to factor in everything such as shipping when you determine if it is profitable. Look around and see what is hot in your area. You may find that every area is different and what may be hot in one part of the country is not in another. It is just how it works. The key to profiting on eBay is doing your research and knowing the trends and what maybe hot tomorrow before it arrives. If you can do that, profits will line your bank account.