By William Brister

eBay has become a huge online business with people raking in hundreds of dollars selling discounted merchandise ranging from garage sale items to new products and collectibles. Research shows that more than 700,000 people across the world make a living, either part time or full-time selling on eBay. It is interesting to note that as more people generate income from eBay, the greater the number of shoppers attracted to the site.

Most people wanting to start an eBay business come as buyers, get hooked on the bandwagon, learn the art of selling and as they clear the belongings they have set out to sell, they realize that they have started making money as well. Thus, several enterprising individuals who began as part time home based businesses have turned these into thriving companies employing numerous employees.

But just as with all small businesses, one must be aware of certain things while starting an eBay business. There is a huge market with many buyers and lots of competition. The issues dealing with finance, warehousing, payment channels and fulfilling orders also remain equally challenging.

To start an eBay business, is like investing time and effort in any other. So ensure that you have a prudent business plan just like for a traditional business. Also, make sure that it is in congruence with your lifestyle and your needs with attainable goals.

Think about the products that you are going to offer and strategize on how to buy and sell on eBay. What would you prefer to be – retail store offering a variety or a discount merchant with specialized products? Is there anything that distinguishes you from your competitors? Select access to buying products will allow you an edge over your competition.

The trick of ‘buying and selling on eBay’ would be to buy at a low cost and sell at a premium and thus generate profits. But it’s not always that simple. You have to think carefully of your strategy for buying products at a price that’s low enough to allow you a profit margin when you mark it up to a price that is still attractive to your market. Also account for the turnover and how your profit margin combined with it will support your operations and still deliver a profit to you.

Once you have your business plan all figured out and products decided, you need to register yourself at eBay. Visit eBay and click on the “Sell” tab at the top of the homepage. Follow the step-by-step instructions to register as an eBay community member. You will have to provide your basic contact information, as well as banking information, such as credit card and checking account numbers. Once that is done, give your business a structure by filing for incorporation or forming a limited liability company.

Since it is a business, whether part-time or full time, keep separate accounting books so as to avoid creating confusion during tax season. Also get insurance for yourself and your eBay business.

Once all the preliminaries are sorted out, there are issues that need to be heeded of a more serious nature. These include paying for your merchandise, stocking goods, receiving payments from customers, as well as financing your business. Although there are many options for all of these, seek out the best suited for you. Stocking can start with garages or basements to save costs in the initial period. You can even use rental storage units and once money starts coming in think of more permanent options like warehouses. You can link up with your customers through payment companies like PayPal, which is an online payment service that enables buyers to pay for their purchases by drawing funds from their credit cards or checking accounts.

After all the logistics are taken care of, you can start your eBay business. Ensure that your web pages are well designed and attractive with good photographs of the products so that customers keep visiting. This is important, as this is the only way for a person to know what he is buying. Decide on which model you want to use to sell your good, auction model or fixed price model. Packing and shipping need special attention to ensure repeated business. Finally, pay attention to your eBay feedback rating especially designed to help eBay buyers and sellers police each other. As you collect positive ratings, buyers will view your business in a credible light, an extremely critical aspect of eBay.

With all this you are set to becoming a successful entrepreneur on eBay!

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