Why not take your eBay selling expertise, and offer your services to car dealers in your local area?

You know how to create auctions, take and upload photos, and manage auctions. The dealers have vehicles which are getting a tiny fraction of the exposure which eBay could offer.

You might decide to offer this to dealers on a no-cost basis. In other words, you bear the cost of eBay's listing and selling fees. The benefit here is that there is no reason why the dealer shouldn't give you the go-ahead. They could get a sale without cost to them and no extra effort on their behalf. That's what I call a no-brainer!

Alternatively, you could pass on the fees to the dealer on the basis that they would be spending money anyway on press advertising.

The other commercial arrangements are simple. You could work on a commission, where you get a percentage of the sale price. Or you could agree a price which the dealer will accept for the sale of the car, and anything you can get above that price is your profit. This would work particularly well if the dealer has had a vehicle for some time, and has no interest in it.

The best types of cars to sell on eBay are those that are unusual for one reason or another. It might be vintage or classic vehicles, sports cars or high value models. You're best to avoid what might be termed "normal" cars. It also depends on the kind of dealers you have in your area.

One of the major potential problems is easily handled. You can't expect the dealer to cease trying to sell a vehicle which you have on eBay auction. In every auction you run for a car, you state that the vehicle is also on sale in other ways, and that you reserve the right to withdraw it before the end of the auction period. You will see such statements on many eBay car auctions.

This idea doesn't have to be limited to cars. There are big ticket item opportunities in several categories. You're looking for retail outlets which tend to concentrate on local advertising and local trade. Examples of this would be jewelers, antique traders and real estate operations.

With big ticket items, just one or two sales per week could make a significant difference to you.

Worth thinking about!

Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur specializing in leveraging the power of eBay. He is author of ‘The eBay Formula’ on how to sell successfully on eBay time after time, and is editor of the eBay Auction Newsletter. Brian is also creator of Keyword Pro, the software which enables sellers to find the top keywords by category currently on eBay. His website is www.workwinners.com