Advice For Starting An Ebay Business

Starting an eBay business is easy to do. Would you like to make some extra cash, or do you want to replace your present income? You can do either!

One of the main reasons selling on eBay has stayed so popular is because it's still easy for anybody to use. Face it, anybody with a checking account and email address can buy or sell on eBay.

For someone wanting to own a home-based business, starting an eBay business is great. It's a simple way to learn how to run a business. I'm an experienced eBay seller... let me share some eBay selling advice with you.

Get Ready-

• Learn as much as you can about what sells well on eBay. Plan to build a successful, profitable business by doing this research now. Here's some advice about researching what sells on eBay. Use this info to choose a niche you're interested in. "Following your passion" is a cliche, but it's so true. A person can sell just about anything on eBay. Brainstorm your niche until you find one that's just right for you. Click here for info about choosing a niche.
• Research selling prices. Setting the right price for what you sell is one of the most important things you need to do! Look at prices both online and off. Look at asking prices on other websites. Look at eBay's 'closed listings' to see what prices are like. You'll find that on the left side of the page in 'item specifics'.
• Write a business plan to make sure that starting an eBay business makes sense. Click here to see a fast and easy way to write your business plan.
• Can you make the money you need by selling items on eBay? You should know by now where you'll get your inventory, how much it will cost, and how much they're selling for now on eBay before you begin. Try to have an idea of how many widgets you need to sell daily to reach your goal. If you're not profitable you won't be happy or remain in business long.
• Make sure a home-based business is legal for you before starting an eBay business. If you live in a city, there's probably a rule about it, and maybe even a license you'll need. Find out now. Do you need a local business license? Look online at your state's Department of Commerce website to find out what you need. If you have a tax accountant, contact that person before beginning to sell on eBay to get any pointers they may have.

Get Set-

• Open accounts for buying AND selling on eBay... it's easy to do. You can buy and sell from the same account, but many sellers have a different account that they use to purchase product to sell on eBay. It's under a different name than their selling ID, and can't be traced to the other account. Sneaky? Not really. If you purchase items to sell on eBay on eBay, no one needs to know what they cost you.
• Register a paypal account so your customers can pay you. Ebay doesn't allow you to say that you accept anything other than Paypal or credit cards (thru Paypal), so it's necessary. It's easy and safe to open the account. It's free for buyers, but of course there's a fee for sellers to use it. The fees add up fast so pay attention. Be sure to read about shipping to 'verified addresses', and 'buyer protection' before you begin to use your account.
• Name your business. Some people use their own name, but most come up with a unique name to register. If you plan on opening an eBay store, your business name will be part of your "brand". Chose your name carefully. Click here for tips about choosing a business name.
• Consider registering a domain name for your business. It's not required for starting an eBay business, but I do that for any business I may consider running. That's so if my business becomes wildly popular, no one else can use my name. I use Godaddy dot com as my domain name registrar, but there's a lot of other good companies to chose from.
• You will need a federal employer identification number (FEIN) if you'll be hiring any help. Having employees is a huge expense, and not to be taken lightly, especially when you're just beginning your business.
• Sorry to be the one to tell you, but the income you make from selling items on eBay is taxable income. Set things up properly now while you're still planning the details of starting an eBay business. It can save you a TON of headaches later!.
• Do you have room at home to store the inventory you need to have for selling on eBay? Remember that you'll need space to store your shipping materials too. Click here to learn 10 things you'll need for your eBay home business.

Go!

• You're at the next stage of starting an eBay business now. You've chosen your niche product, now start selling! There's lots to learn, from how to write listings that sell to what category to sell in. When to start and end listings to style of listing... auction-style, buy it now or best offer. One thing to research is whether using free customized auction templates is a good option for you. Click here to learn about free eBay templates. If you decide to customize your selling page, Click to see where you'll FIND a free eBay template.
• This is SO important... keep good records! Starting an eBay business with good habits will pay off in the long run.
  1. Write down ALL your travel expenses and mileage.
  2. Be sure to get and keep ANY & ALL receipts of inventory or other purchases.
  3. Download your eBay and Paypal listing and final value fees.
  4. Do an inventory yearly, or more often. It helps keep you focused on you're actually selling.
  5. You may be able to declare your dedicated eBay space as a home office on your income tax. Check with an accountant to be sure.
• Make excellent customer service your goal from the beginning. It's not hard... you KNOW how YOU like to be treated. Treat your customers like that! Decide how to handle different situations while you're still in the planning stages of starting an eBay business. Customers are the reason you have a business, not an annoyance.
• If someone has a question, answer them politely, and quickly. Good customer service is a huge part of your success. Communicate with your customers ONLY thru the eBay messaging system. Avoiding personal email accounts keeps you and your buyers safer from scammers, spammers and viruses.
• Don't nag customers for payment. Know how you are allowed to receive payment. For instance, sellers can't advertise that they accept checks or money orders. Read the best practices page in seller central for advice about selling on eBay.
• Do include a reasonable TOS paragraph into your listing. TOS means “terms of sale”. Think about how you like to be treated yourself, and treat your customers like that.
• Don't overcharge on shipping. Do your shipping research BEFORE you list your widget. You should have your shipping details figured out when you're in the early stage of starting an eBay business. Buy an inexpensive digital postal scale to avoid unpleasant surprises. My scale has saved me LOTS of money several times!
• YOU, the seller are responsible for your item until your customer receives it. That makes insurance necessary sometimes. Ebay says that buyers can't be charged for insurance. Lots of sellers self-insure (pay out-of-pocket) for any loss. Read about this carefully to protect yourself.

• Returns. Most sellers HATE returns because of the wasted time, listing fees lost, and bad feelings all around. Ebay doesn't require that you accept returns, but does require you to have a return policy. Decide what is reasonable for what you sell.
• Selling to other countries is more work but can open your biz to more customers. I love selling to people that like the same things I do, wherever they are! And I planned to do it from the beginning. But I do say in my TOS that I only sell to countries that accept paypal.
• Be sure it's legal to ship your widget to foreign countries. Save time, just bookmark the USPS website. Remember to say in your TOS that customs fees are the responsibility of the buyer.
• Meet other sellers on the forums. They're your competition, and can be your best allies. They share the same interests and problems that you do. Just click the tab at the top right corner of the screen marked 'community' to find all of the different forums. Most forums have FAQs at the top of the columns of topics. 'Lurk' for a while before jumping in so you can learn the “unwritten law of the jungle!”
• Remember that though you own your own business, you are selling on eBay's site. The company has its own rules that you must obey. There's lots of help for sellers on the eBay site. Beneath the tool bar in the top right corner of the screen is the 'site map'. Click there to go the resource center where you can learn everything you'll need to know about selling on eBay. And Click here to learn how to keep up on the latest eBay news.
• Once you're past the first stages of starting an eBay business, you'll want to learn how to increase your sales. eBay helps you by doing tons of advertising. Help your business grow by learning other kinds of marketing too. Be sure to check their rules to learn what you can and can't do. Ebay also runs promotions using coupons sometimes. Click here to learn more about eBay coupons.
• Take time to learn how to protect yourself and your eBay business from scams. It's a good idea to learn about potential problems while you're starting your eBay business, rather than after you get scammed! Click here to learn more about eBay scams.
• Still planning on starting an eBay business? Plan to take some time browsing around on their website. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or whatever. Relax. Be sure to take notes about what you learn! You don't have to be signed up to look around there. I'm making money AND happy, so I plan to keep on selling on eBay for a long time! But there are lots of alternatives to eBay. Click here to see the eBay alternatives I've discovered. You might want to look them over, because it's good to have a back-up plan in case selling on eBay doesn't work out for you.

Starting an eBay business sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? This eBay selling advice is meant to get you thinking about ALL the details. Only someone experienced with selling on eBay can point out common problems that new sellers may run into.

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