Getting Started on Ebay

Making a living on eBay is so great.  Some of the reasons are that you don’t have to put as much time into the business as you do in other online businesses.  I know people who work 18 hour days for many months without seeing a nickel.  You don’t have to spend hardly any money to get started.  You don’t have to build a web site or write a book.  You don’t even have to have a product, all of the time.  You can also see profit almost right away.

The first thing that I suggest you do, well even if you’re already selling, is get a good digital camera.  The pictures of your products are very important.

Some people have a great product, but the picture is kind of grainy or it’s just taken from too far away.  It also sends a bad message to potential buyers because they see an unprofessional picture and they start to think that it might be a shabby product.  Quality is very important. 

I would suggest you have at least a 4 mega pixel digital camera.  If you’re planning on blowing the picture up then it’s real important to have a higher mega pixel.  I know because I used to sell digital cameras for Best Buy. 

You should also have separate buying and selling accounts.  You should have two accounts because if you’re selling something you will be able to have complete control. 

You will be able to fix any problems and keep a good feedback rating.  The accounts are free and they don’t take very long to set-up so it’s not much work at all.  You will need two different e-mail addresses, but you can get another e-mail address really easily by using hotmail or gmail.  It’s also a good idea to buy a few things to get some positive feedback.

Something that you should do when you have your accounts open is fill out your me page.  This seems kind of obvious, but there are so many people who don’t do this.  This does a couple of things for you. 

The first thing is that it makes you look more professional and people are more likely to buy from people who look more professional.  It also lets you add a personal quality, so the buyer doesn’t think of you as such a stranger. 

Even though you’ve never met them, they know a few things about you and that is very reassuring to them.  People are more likely to buy from a stranger they know something about, than a stranger that they know absolutely nothing about.  Obviously having a positive feedback is very important, but this adds another element.

Another advantage that you get by doing this is that you get to put a link to a web site that you might own.  Lots of people have web sites and it’s a good way to get traffic. 

Now you can’t have selling language to describe the link, so just say something like, you can go to my web site to find out more information on whatever your site is. 

Once they’re there, then they can buy products, but you just can’t have selling language.  If you get confused on anything, make sure you read eBay’s terms and conditions.

The first things that I would sell are pretty obvious.  Find stuff that you don’t use or stuff that you want to sell to make a profit.  There are a few reasons why you should do this.

For one you clear up some clutter, but another is you’re turning a profit right away.  It gives you money to invest in your business.  It also breaks down a mental barrier, a lot of time the hardest dollar to make online is the first.  Not so with eBay.

Some other things that this does is it allows you to get a feel for selling on eBay.  It’s also a good way to get some positive feedback.  I will get more in depth in selling products on eBay in my next section.