December 27th, 2009 by Jesse W. Holmes
Are you wondering what eBay is all about? While you might have a basic idea of what eBay is, let me explain a bit more about it.
One way to look at eBay is to imagine a worldwide newspaper full of classified ads listing products and services for sale. Or perhaps a “For Sale” bulletin board that millions of people can see. Of course, eBay charges sellers to put an ad up, but the exposure to the millions of worldwide buyers is worth it.
Also, anyone can put almost anything for sale on eBay. You’ve probably heard the ridiculous news stories of items that you’d never expect to sell. Like a grilled cheese sandwich with the (supposed) image of the Virgin Mary that sold for $28,000.
However, not every seller is “out to lunch.” With over 276 million users on eBay, there will be some oddballs, but the majority are average hard-working people just like you or I.
These buyers and sellers are part of the eBay “community.” You’re dealing with the other users directly, and any buying or selling happens one-on-one. In that way, eBay is like an online version of a marketplace in a town square-a location where buyers and sellers can meet, haggle over the price and then complete the transaction.
When you start out on eBay, you might feel overwhelmed. Don’t worry, it gets easier. At first, without any experience or training, it can be a little tricky to get your ad noticed among the 3.6 million other items added every day. But in time, you too can learn the tricks of the trade to sell and make a nice profit selling on eBay.
The key is to find someone who has already been there and ask if they can show you the ropes. Find a seller who has been selling on eBay for many months or years. Look at their feedback and see if they are providing a good customer experience.
You can also look for an Education Specialist trained by eBay. These people have taken a special course to be able to teach beginning eBayers how to get started on eBay. They will be glad to help you get started.
Whether you’re old or young, it doesn’t matter. The great thing about eBay is that you can get started no matter who what your experience, and even if you know nothing about computers or e-commerce. It’s not difficult to learn how to sell on eBay. Everyone starts at the same place, with 0 feedback and no experience. With time and experience, you’ll become a successful eBay seller.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, make sure you check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 26th, 2009 by Joel Holmes
Many people are surprised when I tell them that I sell on eBay for a living. I don’t have a regular “job.” The next question they usually ask is “Can you really do that?” The answer to that question is a resounding yes!
You see, I’ve tried both online and offline business models, and eBay is the only one that worked for me. I had a painting business where I had 15 people working for me. You’d think that with so many employees, I’d be able to make a significant profit. Not true. What happened was I paid all my employees and at the end of the day, there wasn’t anything left for me.
Starting an eBay business was the opposite of my painting business. I didn’t have to stress out about what my employees were doing. I didn’t have to worry about spending lots of money in overhead expenses. I didn’t have to drive all over the city to make sure things were running smoothly. I could just sit in front of a computer and manage everything from home. The hassle was gone. Now, all I had to do a few things on the computer, and then package and ship items when they sold. The stress was gone. What was most exciting about eBay, however, was that I could see the results. I got profits from the time and energy I put into it.
I’ll never forget the day when I made my first sale on eBay. It was a Friday night and my family and I were going out for dinner. I had checked our PayPal account before we left and there was nothing. Yet when we returned home after a great dinner, I found out that we had made money while going out for dinner! It was amazing, because we made money literally when we weren’t working. I just put the listing up on eBay and left it. It’s still amazing to wake up in the morning and to have made money while I sleep.
The bottom line? It’s much easier to sell on eBay than to start another business. I’ve shared how eBay is one of the best businesses that you can start. Now it’s up to you. What are you going to do about it?
Joel Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, you need to check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 25th, 2009 by Joel Holmes
By far the most popular question I hear from entrepreneurs stating to sell on eBay is “what do I sell?” That is a question that if you can properly answer, you’ll have success on eBay. What’s my answer? I’ll tell you in a minute. First, I need to explain why it’s so easy to get stuck here. (Don’t worry, I’ve been there too.)
This problem comes up because an eBay business is a product business. If you don’t have products to sell on eBay, then you probably don’t have an eBay business at all. You need to buy product at a price that will give you good profit margins. It’s the simple model of buy low and sell high. Before you say that you “already know that” listen up.
Someone who would get stuck figuring out which product to buy would also be someone who might get stuck on which stock to buy. Let’s say we want to buy stocks. It’s the same model as buying product for eBay, right? It’s to buy it for a low price and sell it for a higher price. Whether it’s a company stock or an product to sell on eBay, you need to figure it out in the same way.
Think about what a successful stock trader does. They first of all know what to look for. They look at the market. They check the price. They figure out if they’ll be able to sell it for more in the future. Then they make the call.
A good stock trader will be someone who doesn’t just focus on one stock. Instead, they focus on the principles of how to buy a good stock. They look for the winning qualities. They then filter through the many options to find those winners. Well it works the same way with finding products to sell on eBay. You need to educate yourself. You need to figure out what the market is doing. Then you need to be able to make the call when the situation demands it.
What’s the key ingredient to find products? By far, it’s having the mindset. You need the training to see the opportunities. Once you can recognize opportunities, you’ll be prepared for them when they arrive. There are literally countless products all around you that you can sell. You just can’t see them yet. The main thing you need to do is to get yourself in that “seller’s mindset” so you can.
Maybe you’re still wondering what to sell.
If you’re brand new to eBay, my recommendation is that you begin to sell stuff that you don’t need. There’s probably an area of your house that is too cluttered, whether it’s the attic, a closet, or the basement. Instead of having a yard sale, see if you can sell it on eBay. You’ll build your feedback ratings and be well on your way to becoming a better eBay entrepreneur.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been taking advantage of this eBay business opportunity for over 3 years. If you want in, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 24th, 2009 by Jesse Holmes
So you want to sell on eBay? You want to take advantage of the $60 billion dollar marketplace, grab your piece of the pie? That’s great, but where can you find product to sell?
That’s probably the number one question that new eBay sellers ask. You need to have the products to sell. If you don’t, you can’t make any sales, and without sales you can’t have a business right?
Many people get stuck here, but it doesn’t have to be hard.
When you have an idea of what you want to sell on eBay, you need to know that there are a couple of manufacturers selling those products. Let’s name it WidgetX.
Maybe you can find WidgetX in retail stores, online stores, or catalogs. Regardless of where you can buy it today, you probably don’t want to start at the retail end of the supply chain. The top of the supply chain is the manufacturer. The best prices are going to be closer to the manufacturer.
This is why you should get a hold of the manufacturer and find their authorized wholesalers. Other than calling them directly, the best way to get in touch with the manufacturer is to go to a trade show. Trade shows are where retailers and manufacturers get together. Business deals have been made at trade shows for years, and is a great place for you and your eBay business.
Go online and find out which trade shows are relative to your industry. Selling electronics? Head over to the Consumer Electronics Show. Selling garden supplies? Look online for a gardening trade show in your area.
It is a little tricky getting into a trade show. You have to make sure you have the paperwork filled out with your government and your eBay business registered. You have to be able to prove that you are a real business. If you can’t prove this at the door, they probably won’t let you in.
However, once you’re inside, you have access to plenty of suppliers. All around you there will be new product ideas. Network with people, get contact information and plenty of business cards. In order to have an endless supply of products to sell on eBay, all you need to do is develop some good supplier relationships.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, you need to check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 23rd, 2009 by Joel Holmes
Regardless of your experience level selling on eBay, there is often one question that comes up. That question is “where do I find products?” This is a common question to all retailers, whether they are online or sell in “brick and mortar” stores. What do the offline stores do? They develop relationships with local wholesalers and distributors for the products that they carry. The same principle applies for people running an online business.
Online sellers always wonder if the distributors and wholesalers will sell to them. The answer to that question is… it depends. Some wholesalers will sell to eBayers, some won’t. Every wholesaler is different.
So how do you start finding wholesalers? Well let me tell you where not to look. Don’t do a regular internet search for them, because most of the websites that you’ll find are false. Don’t believe the hype, no matter how appealing they look to eBay sellers. You might think you won the lottery if you believed all their promises. Sorry, but it’s not true.
Why? Well these websites aren’t really the wholesalers at all. That’s because wholesalers and distributors don’t have to advertise for eBay sellers. Wholesalers already have enough offline business when they deal with regular retail stores. Instead, these sites are made by “middlemen” that make the connections to the wholesaler, then mark up the products before they re-sell them to you. Usually the mark-up is much too great to be useful to you, and you’ll find that the prices you purchased products at are too high to make sense for you to sell on eBay.
So what do we do now? Well first you need to realize that the web isn’t the best source for you to Wholesalers aren’t on the edge of internet technology. They do business mainly by telephone because it’s worked for them for decades. In my experience, the best wholesalers that we’ve found don’t have websites, or they have websites that are difficult to use or find. So how do you find wholesalers if you can’t search on the web? The best way is to go to the top. In this case, it’s the manufacturer. Call the manufacturer by looking through the product documentation or warranty card.
Remember that the wholesaler’s role is to help the manufacturer. How do they do this? It’s because the manufacturer doesn’t have to worry about selling and keeping track of products. The manufacturer makes the stuff, and then they give it to their wholesaler. All you need to do is ask the manufacturer for the nearest wholesaler or distributor to you.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 22nd, 2009 by Jesse Holmes
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced eBay seller. All levels of experience must follow three basic product sourcing models to sell on eBay.
First, you could sell for other people as an eBay Trading Assistant. An eBay Trading Assistant is someone who sells products on behalf of other people in the community. You earn a commission on the products you sell, and if people know that you’ll sell their stuff on eBay, there will be no end of products for you.
Second, you can sell many one of a kind or unique items. For example, maybe you specialize in selling antiques. Every item is unique, and every item needs new pictures and descriptions. If you choose this product sourcing model, there are a few benefits. One of these benefits is that you’ll hopefully get to sell to a group of people who can’t wait to see what you’ll list next. You can really build a following of people naturally and easily. For example, let’s say you sold Native American hand-carved figurines. If you had a following of people who collected these, they would be waiting on the edge of their seats to see what you’ll list next. There’s excitement and anticipation there.
One of the main disadvantages of selling unique items is the fact that it is more time consuming than selling items in bulk. For example, if every item is one-of-a-kind, then there’s no way you can buy a bulk load with multiple quantities. You’ll have to make individual listings for every item, and thus become more efficient at making those listings. Don’t get bogged down if you choose this method. Streamline what you do, so you can effectively juggle time between finding products and selling them on eBay.
Now, let’s consider the third model. This is the model that I feel works the best. What is this model? It’s to buy inventory in bulk. Why do I (and thousands of other sellers) choose this model? Well, the main reason is you’re going to save a lot of time. You save time in creating the listings because you take the pictures and write the listing once. After that, you’re done! You could sell hundreds or thousands of identical items just by making one listing. You get paid multiple times for the work you do once. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The disadvantage of this model is that you might be in a highly competitive category to do it. Usually items that sell well in bulk have a healthy level of competition for those items. Yet, if you learn how to sell on eBay properly, you’ll hold your own. You’ll be making money on eBay in no time.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 21st, 2009 by Joel Holmes
Let’s say you’re just getting started on eBay. You’ve opened up your account and now you’re looking for something to sell. If you’ve already followed our advice to sell the stuff around your house you may be wondering what to sell next. Sure, your attic and closets may be clean, and you’ve gotten rid of the clutter, but now what?
The bottom line is that your success on eBay is directly related to the products you have to sell. If you don’t have any products to sell, then you don’t have an eBay business. How would you like a never-ending supply of products?
One great way to obtain unlimited products is to become an eBay Trading Assistant. What is a Trading Assistant? This is someone who helps other people get their items sold on eBay. So if you have and Aunt Gertrude who wants her antiques sold on eBay, you would be a Trading Assistant if you helped her sell them. You, as a Trading assistant, take the pictures and do everything related to selling on eBay. In short, you’re going to “assist” her in every way.
Now since your Aunt Gertrude is so dear to you, you might do this for free. For other people in your community, you’d likely charge them a commission for your time and energy. Or, you could buy their products and resell them yourself.
It’s really that simple to have an unlimited supply of products. Everyone you can think of has something extra cluttering up their house. Why not help them get rid of it (and help yourself in the process)? eBay estimates that most people have over $1000 worth of items around the house that are being unused. You can easily see that tapping into this for just a few people will keep you busy for weeks to come.
Now if you choose to be a Trading Assistant, there are two ways to do it. First, you can do it the “official way” by registering on eBay. This allows you to be listed in the eBay Trading Assistant directory, but in order to do this, you need to meet a few requirements. You need to have a feedback score of 100 with 98% positive feedback, have sold 10 items in the previous 3 months, and have your eBay account in good standing. For more information, you can go to www.tradingassistant.com.
If you don’t meet eBay’s requirements, however, don’t let that discourage you. You can still be a Trading Assistant “unofficially.” eBay can’t stop you from helping other people sell on eBay. The only real difference between being “offical” or “unofficial” is whether or not you can use eBay’s official Trading Assistant logo and be listed in the directory of Trading Assistants (so others can go onto eBay and find you). But regardless of whether you choose to be official or not, it’s always up to you to find who you can help.
Here are some ways you can promote yourself as a Trading Assistant. First, get the word out. Ask your neighbors if they have anything to sell on eBay. Talk to your friends about it. The more people know that you are the guy (or gal) to go to for selling on eBay, then the more products you’ll have to sell. You can also post flyers around town, or put a classified ad in the paper advertising your services.
There really is no end of products you can sell on eBay. With a little ingenuity, you can be the “go-to” person that takes care of everything eBay related.
Joel Holmes is an expert eBay Powerseller, author, speaker and consultant. He is willing to take you step by step and show you how to make money on eBay with his easy to follow eBay 101 Start Up Kit, but only for a limited time. Go now for exclusive free access!
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December 20th, 2009 by Joel Holmes
When I was in high school, I had a summer job as a corn detassler. (In case you don’t know, corn detasseling involves removing the tassel from a corn stock to create hybrid seed corn.) What I would do is wake up (way too early), eat something for breakfast and head out to the bus stop, where a bus would take me and the other laborers to the corn field. Now if you’ve never been in a corn field, let me tell you it’s not the best place to be early in the morning. Why? Because the corn is wet from the morning dew, and there are hundreds of insects flying or hopping all over the place. The worst was getting into the field for the first time, because I would go from being warm and dry to instantly cold and wet and covered in bugs.
After working for up to 10 hours in the fields, I would get home and basically collapse exhausted until we started it all over again.
So why do I tell you this story? To illustrate that it takes time to learn something. When I first started detasseling, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was slow, and the work was hard. Yet, with time, I learned how. That doesn’t mean that it was easy getting in the fields in the morning, but I did it anyways. In a similar way, learning how to sell on eBay will be hard. I believe that it’s the quickest and easiest way to make money online, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be challenged by it. You’ll need to learn some thing, and you might be slow or find it hard when you start.
But after a few days of just getting my lazy butt out of bed and hitting the fields, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, I began to enjoy it. I didn’t mind working a 9 or 10 hour day any more. I knew that I was getting better, and also, I knew that I was making pretty good money. I just kept pushing through the discomfort and stepping outside my comfort zone.
Remember what it was like to pushed or worked harder than you’ve ever had before. Maybe you tried something new for the first time. Maybe you competed in a sporting event. Remember what that feels like. Now, take that same feeling of being “in the zone” and apply that to opening up an eBay business. Of course you’ll have challenges along the way, as with any business. But in the long run, with the right attitude, starting an eBay business is one of the easier ways to get started.
Consider that you don’t have to fight the cold, bug filled, wet fields in the morning. You don’t have to deal with the blazing heat in the summer afternoon. What’s one of the hardest things you’ll have to do? Put something in a box and take it to the post office.
The bottom line? Stop making excuses. Don’t let anything hold you back. Work hard, and you’ll see almost instant success with eBay.
Joel Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.
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December 13th, 2009 by Jesse Holmes
So you’re starting your eBay business? That’s awesome. And as I’ve said many times before, I think that eBay is the fastest and easiest way to get started selling online. No other website can even touch the $60 billion marketplace that is eBay.
However, what many beginners forget is that in order to be successful online, you can’t be a lone ranger. Sure you can run a successful eBay business from your home, but if you’re in business, you’ll have to connect with other businesses. To get the maximum profits, it’s likely that you’ll have to deal with other big businesses that aren’t home based.
It’s been said that the only way to get what you want in life is to help other people get what they want. You’ve got to remember that your business should be helping your customers and suppliers. Want to know if you’re helping enough people? Check your bank balance. If it’s too low, you’re not helping enough people. It’s easy, really. Help more people, make more money.
So how do you help and connect with people? One main thing you need to do is get out in the community. Make sure you’re seen and people know what you do. Talk with local store owners. Make sure you always have your business cards with you, and give them out whenever you can. Let everyone know that you sell on eBay, not just your firends and family.
The more you get connected with people in your community, the more opportunities you have for you to help them (and them to help you). Think about businesses that you could help. Could you help them sell excess inventory? Are there other local businesses that need help to sell their products online? What about individuals that may need their antiques sold? When you start looking around, you’ll see opportunities all around you.
Bottom line: The more connections you have, the more successful you’ll become.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been selling on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, make sure you check out his recently updated free eBay 101 Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to sell on eBay.
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December 11th, 2009 by Jesse Holmes
Sometimes it seems that finding a niche or a product with good profit margins is the hardest thing on eBay. It can be frustrating going online, buying an ebook or a list of ‘authentic wholesalers and drop shippers’ and then going on eBay and seeing those same items sell for less then the ‘wholesale price’ you have to pay from the dropshipper.
You won’t be in business too long if you sell stuff for less than what you buy it for. You should always have a strategy to buy low and sell high, unless you have a plan to get more from a customer later to offset your initial losses. If you’re a beginner, don’t worry about that… just always sell items for more than what you buy them for.
Also, I don’t want you to get stuck in the ‘dropshipping’ trap. I’ve wasted hours and hours literally going through every single product in a dropshipping company’s catalog only to find out that none of them are profitable to sell on eBay.
To make serious money on eBay you need to analyze what the big guys are doing and see how they are profitably moving inventory. eBay is different then a lot of places due to the nature of the site. People are going there to find a great deal, but there’s much more to it than that.
Let’s say you went on eBay right now and you were looking for a specific item. You’d probably find the most affordable item, with one exception. You don’t want to pay the bare-bones minimum because “you’ll get what you pay for.”
Some people think that if they are the cheapest price on eBay, that will guarantee them maximum sales. While that might be true in the short-term, chances are that their profit margins will be so small that they won’t be in business for long. Remember that you’re in business to provide an experience for your customer. This includes a great product at a good price. Also, it means that you make a reasonable profit.
So how do you enter a competitive market and earn peoples business when it seems that everyone just wants the lowest price?
There are various ways to do this. Because it’s a big step for people to buy from someone they’ve never seen, you need to stand out from the crowd. To get your customer to choose you over your competitor, you need to get their attention. Make sure that you have a great gallery picture to draw your customer away from the price tag. Make sure that your listing has the most relevant keywords in the title. Your goal is to get people to click on your listing, and then from there, you have a better chance of selling to your customer.
Once they land on your listing, yes your feedback has much to do with trust, but also the professionalism of your listing. You need to position yourself in a way that shows you are a trustworthy quality seller who is dedicated to providing the best customer experience.
How do you look professional? Have a good looking listing template, clearly defined policies, professional pictures of your item, and a description that you’ve taken the time to create yourself – not just copied from the manufacturer’s website.
Have you ever tried to buy something on eBay and wondered if the seller is legitimate? Have you wondered whether or not the seller would run away with your money? Now, step back into your shoes as a seller. You don’t want any doubts in the mind of your buyers. Your buyers will be able to tell by how your listing looks whether you are a reputable seller or not. Buyers do business with sellers that they trust.
What people see is what they are going to get. If you can set yourself apart from the other “small time” sellers and model the successful ones, you’ll have a competitive edge to getting started selling on eBay.
Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been selling on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, make sure you check out his recently updated free eBay 101 Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to make money on eBay.
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