eBay Success Series- Part 1

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So you are looking to get into selling items on eBay, eh? Well being a business related website and also all about entrepreneurship, I wanted to share with you what has made me successful and also lead me to partner with a friend to start an eBay business which I will discuss later on through the series.

About this Series-
I really have no idea or plans for how many posts this series will turn into. I am going to write and write until I have nothing more to share with your about the powerful potential of selling on eBay and sharing with you tips on how to make your income grow! With the series, I am hoping to add my personal insights to make this different from all the other websites you may have read about on “How To Be Successful on eBay Like Me”. Also, I am looking forward to bringing in the view points of other entrepreneurial youth who are taking eBay by storm and giving you their secrets on top of mine. If at any time you have something you would like for me to write about, feel free to leave a comment and I will try and get to it in the next part in the series.

So, where do I start!?! Well I guess I will run through a couple of the first things you will need to do to start being successful on eBay and we can just see where this takes us.

1. Getting started with eBay
Start out by registering and becoming an eBay member – Duh! Once registered, start searching the site for different things that you like or items related to your different hobbies. For instance, I am a huge outdoorsman and always search eBay for different Rock Climbing Equipment or new Camping Gear . Once you start searching for different items that you like and know things about, make mental notes of what kind of items are selling well. Huge markets on eBay include consumer electronics, clothing, and DVDs.

Now that you are familiar with searching through eBay, start looking for things that you would normally go to a store for and could purchase off of eBay. Looking for different DVDs you want or if you are looking to get a new digital camera, search around and you may find something. But the important thing to do is to start making some purchases and get positive feedback from your sellers. Continue to do this a few times to make your self familiar with the eBay interfaces and the different policies that sellers have. Noting different policies will help you out in the future when you decide to start selling and you already know what to specify for payment and shipping terms.

Now that you have some positive feedback and are used to using eBay, its time to take it one step further.

2. What do you want to sell?
Finding an item to sell on eBay is usually where most people end their eBay business career, simply because there are SO MANY things being sold, that it is hard to tell what would be the best items for you to sell and make money from. You are going to really need to find a niche product that people are willing to pay for and that you can find from a supplier to be able to offer on eBay.

I suggest by continuing to search for items that you know about. I got into selling sporting goods/gear because they are things I know about. A friend of mine sells different paintball products on eBay because he is an avid paintball player and enjoys the sport. If you can find something that you are knowledgeable about and that is also selling well on eBay, then you may have easily found your market. However, continue to snoop around and make sure there are not too many other people doing the same thing you are and offering the same prices. It will be hard to compete with them in the future when you start selling products.

If you are not sure what you want to sell, continue to do research. Thing of the different small items that everyone needs, or at least a good size target group. Items such as cuff links, toys, ties, and shoes are huge eBay markets but things that people may usually not think about being able to sell.

To get familiar with selling items on eBay, take some things that are laying around your dorm room or house that you don’t need any more and list them for sale on eBay. This will give you a chance to learn how to list your items, to design your auctions, and to also map out your seller policies. After completing a couple transactions, you will soon see how easy selling on eBay can be, all you need is a routine and your set for success.

Next time…
With the next part in the series we will touch on continuing to do research for your right eBay selling product and also what tools you can use to do this. Brian Balfour from The Entrepreneurial Endeavor will be leanding me his experiences to help with this part of the series so I am looking forward to sharing it with you.

Until then, get on eBay and start searching around!

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