The Key To Success On eBay

The key to success in any venture is planning and selling on eBay should be no different. Now you may have heard some other eBay experts telling people to just start selling and plan later. This is fine for those just starting out who are exploring the idea of selling on eBay. However, if you’re serious and really want to start making any sort of income from your eBay business then you’re going to need a rock solid plan.

Analyzing Your eBay Business Goals

Every person is different and so every business will inherently be different as well. You want as business that will satisfy your personal goals. Success for you may mean being able to quit your nine to five job. For others it may simply mean making enough for some extra spending money each month. To get a clear picture of your goals ask yourself these questions:

1. Is this business something I want to do full-time or part-time?
2. Is this going to a one man operation or will I have a partner/employee?
3. How much money would I like to take home each month?
4. How much am I willing to invest in monthly overhead?

Only after answering these basic questions can you have an idea of how to proceed with your eBay strategy for your business.

Formulating A Winning Strategy

The next step is to figure out how you plan to reach the goals that you have set out. The bigger you want your business to be the more complicated the planning and overhead is also likely to be. Let’s give a brief example let’s say you want to make $1,000 a month which is quite doable. However, there are many different ways to go about it. You could sell 1,000 items with a dollar profit on each or you could sell 5 items each bringing in $200 dollars profit. If you want to work part-time then the better solution would be the latter. That brings us to our steps for a successful eBay Business Plan:

1. Begin With eBay Market Research. The first step then is to explore the eBay Marketplace and look for items which are selling well. There some tools available for free on eBay that can help. Try using the completed listings tool to see which items seem to popular. There are also third party research tools available such as Terapeak or Hammertap.
2. Researching Sources For Items. One you have brainstormed a list of potential items that you would like to sell, it is time to try to see if you can find them for a good price. Depending on your business goals some items may be out of reach as they require large amounts of capital. An example would be high end electronics they may sell well but many wholesalers have a minimum purchase order that would make it difficult for small sellers. Some sources include buying wholesale, buying bulk liquidations, thrift stores, estate sales, /Craigslist, eBay wholesale listings and many more.
3. Calculating Your Profit Margins. Once you have an item in mind and a source it’s time to calculate your profit margin. Take the expected sale price plus shipping and minus any eBay fees that apply this includes the final value fees, listing fees and PayPal fees. From this figure you can calculate how many of the items you would need to sell to reach your goal. You also have to take into account how many of the items are available for purchase. Used collectible items have an inherited limited supply.

As you can see it can be hard to find that perfect eBay niche that works for you and helps you reach your goals. The key though is to thoroughly research plan your eBay Business. When you do find it though making money one eBay will be as simple buying inventory, listing it and shipping it to your customers.