1. FOCUS - Choose something
to sell that you already know about; preferably
something that you love! When you are already
familiar with an item, you don't waste time
wondering whether it will sell or how much
you should pay for it.
My experience with garage
sale shopping and hoping that I picked things
that people wanted to buy was a total flop
because I didn't know what I was looking
for.
I ended up with piles of stuff
that I couldn't sell and wasted lots of
time looking for garage sales. Those of
you who have done this, know the total frustration
of a wasted Saturday morning.
2. RESEARCH - The other option is
to research on eBay what is already selling
and then find a cheap source of that item.
Garage sales are a good way to find stuff
if you already know what you are looking
for. Call ahead to garage sales that are
listed in the paper and ask if they have
what you are looking for.
Don't waste your time and
gas poking around town looking for sales
that don't have what you want! Garage sales
work best if you know a lot about antiques
or collectibles. These items sell well on
eBay, but they only work for people who
know what they are looking for and how much
antiques and collectibles are worth.
Other things that sell well
on eBay are items that have a model number
or item number or an ISBN number (this is
for eBay's sister site Half.com which lists
books by ISBN numbers - this is great for
selling old textbooks or out of print items!)
People go to eBay looking for deals on electronics,
brand-name clothes, video games, computers,
and software.
Things that can be easily
identified with words sell well on eBay.
Things that do NOT sell well on eBay are
things that don't have a hard and fast description;
items that need to be touched or smelled
or rely on aesthetics to sell. Home interior
items are examples of things that DON'T
sell well on eBay.
People who shop eBay are looking
for something specific. If they don't already
know about what you are selling, they aren't
going to just browse eBay's categories looking
for your items. Use this as a guide when
choosing what to sell.
The best way to find cheap
sources for these items is to work out a
deal with a wholesaler. This way you get
the best possible pricing and you can still
make a profit! Because, remember, people
shopping eBay are looking for a deal!
3. CONSIDER DROP SHIPPING - This
is the best possible method that I have
found for making eBay a profitable enterprise.
(Unless you are going the route of antiques
and collectibles)
Drop shipping eliminates the
need for storing your items, packaging,
and shipping them. This ate most of the
profit that I would have made because it
took so much time to do all of this. And
most of us don't have an empty room we can
devote just for storing stuff for eBay and
even if we did, we have to come up with
a system for inventory.
You end up with a lot of the
headaches that traditional businesses have
to deal with. SO, the BEST way that I have
found to make eBay profitable for the average
person is this:
-
research what is selling
on eBay.
-
go to the library and
go through a copy of the business directory
and find WHOLESALERS that sell the product
that eBay goers are looking for.
-
contact the wholesaler
and work out a deal with them.
-
ask for great pricing
in exchange for you selling their product
as part of the deal, arrange for them
to ship directly to your customers.
So, basically, you are acting
as a retailer for them. They benefit, by
getting sales with no overhead, and you
benefit by being able to be competitive
on eBay and not having the headaches of
storing, packing, and shipping! It is a
wonderful win-win agreement!
If you do choose the antiques and collectibles
route, there are great resources out there
to teach you how to do it as profitably
as possible. My favorite is Starting an
eBay Business for Dummies.
And, as a resource to market your eBay auctions
for even better profits, I would definitely
recommend Seth Godin's book Permission Marketing.
It is a MUST for growing your eBay business
and keeping customers coming back to your
auctions again and again. The key is turning
strangers into friends and friends into
customers!
About the Author:
Jonathan R. Taylor, specializes
in helping people in every stage of their
lives to find more meaning and purpose in
their work. He believes that to find that
purpose and meaning, a person's interests,
skills, passions, and goals must integrate
seamlessly with their work. To get more
great advice, subscribe to Jonathan's newsletter
at www.careercalling.com!
