Starting an Ebay/online Business

[RonC]

I had an extremely hectic and trying week, but all worked out well. I am resting my mind today, so I figured I would post something a little different. With the bad times, I had a couple of family members/friends ask me for help in starting an Ebay business.

I figured I would post a little bit on the topic, and if it gets some interest, I would post some more.

The biggest question is what do you sell. My advice is to pick a hobby or something that really interests you. Bottom line is that there is tons of competition out there, and establishing an Ebay business takes a lot of time. If you have no interest in the item you are selling, you probably wont do well.

anybody want to hear more?

 

[indyrob]

I used to sell a lot of things on ebay, but hate how it all works. Now a days, a lot of people want so much for so little. Ebay has changed how the feedback works and really takes a lot of control away from the seller and puts a sellers future up for bid.

I have a friend that is a power seller. He sells a lot of vintage things like sewing machines & typewriters, but 80% of the people that buy from him try and get him to "buy" positive feedback...like they will make a small complaint about something that was listed in the description and ask him to refund some of the money because of the listed defect. He has had a few negative feedbacks because of stuff like that and lost his power seller rating.

Ebay's good for buying, but I won't sell anymore.

 

[RonC]

I sell new items so I really dont run into that problem much. I have only had a few unreasonable people who made threats. all i did was tell them to return the item for a full refund. I also told them that Ebay does not look kindly upon buyers who threaten with bad feedback BEFORE the vendor has a chance to solve the problem. I got positive feedback from all. Sometimes you have to have a little bit of a temper...LOL.

 

[RonC]

OK, so you have a hobby or two picked out. Now its time for research. lets say you like pocket knives. If it is your hobby, you should know more than the average person.

go to ebay and see whats listed. you should recognize a lot of knives and brands. do advanced searches, and see how much the knives have actually sold for. Check out PowerSellers, and see what they are selling a lot of. just get to know your product, and studying ebay is the best way to determine a selling price and popularity of an item.

 

[indyrob]

Ok...I see where you are going with this Ron. It's like a tutorial of sorts. Right on!

 

[RonC]

now more research. go read and study the online knife forums (remember knives are just an example, you can do this with any product). I picked knives because I like knives. From reading knife forums over the years, I know the major manufacturers. I know what models are most popular. I know when the wholesale trade shows take place. I am a member of a couple knife forums, and got free passes to the wholesale knife shows. all the manufacturers where there taking orders.

between the ebay research, and internet research, its not that hard to break into any business.

people talk about "Niche's" for ebay. here is a simple example. I am a knife nut. I especially like Karambits. Spyderco was making a beautiful Karambit. the Karambit guys loved them, but spyderco just didnt sell enough of them, so they discontinued the model.
i am not in the knife business, so i could not buy them wholesale at that time. so i called the factory store, and bough 10 at $40 each. These things were selling for about $100. after about a year, they disappeared from the market. i sold my ten at $100 each. bottom line is the more you know about a hobby, the more $ you can make.

 

[RonC]

Buying Wholesale. This is where things get serious. These days most companies wont just send you a price list. You have to prove that you are in business. That usually means at least a sales tax #. sometimes a business license from your county. A federal ID #, etc. your accountant can help you with all of that.

some manufacturers wont deal with online vendors, but there are plenty that will.

the company will tell you what forms of business ID that you need.

If you are in internet vendor, I have been asked for my website. these days its easy to set something up with little expense.

once you have your wholesale price list, now you can compare your wholesale costs to what these items are selling for on ebay. dont forget your shipping costs need to get added in to your wholesale costs.

remember, margins are slim.