Before Diving Head First Into eBay

“I want to make money online. I know, I’ll start selling stuff on eBay!” This is an all too common thought process as more and more people attempt to start making money online. However, before jumping head first into the unknown, take a look at these five pointers and avoid some of the pitfalls.

1. Register and Choose a Relevant, Memorable ID

If you haven’t yet registered for eBay, what have you been doing for the past 10 years? Better late than never I suppose. Make sure you choose a relevant username to the product or service you want to sell or offer. If you are going to sell eBooks on DVD, try and register something like DVDEbooks and not something like CoolDood69. You don’t want potential customers to shun your listings because they think you are an idiot.

2. Research Your Market Before Deciding What to Sell

Making a living on eBay is getting tougher by the year as internet useage grows and more people attempt to earn money via the net’s premier online auction website. If you had planned to sell DVDs, consumer electronics then you have already missed the boat and dirt-cheap suppliers from the Far East are putting the squeeze on profits even further.

eBay banned the sale of instantly downloadable eBooks recently and forced sellers to provide their information products on CD or DVD. This removed thousands of lazy marketers overnight and there are far less people selling eBooks at present. If you can spot a gap in the market then you could do very well. Plus, because you have to supply the products in physical format, you will actually be able to make money and not be forced to list a digital download for 1c just to compete with the rest of the crowd.

3. Working Out Your Suppliers

Who is going to supply your products? Will you be doing it yourself or will you be sourcing the goods elsewhere. When you have a firm idea of your costs you can then price your products accordingly so you can make a decent living and not end up like the majority of failed “eBay businesses” which take hit after hit every month until they go bust.

4. Buy & Sell to Obtain eBay Feedback

If you haven’t used eBay before, then it is a good idea to purchase a few items, if for no other reason than to build your feedback rating. Potential customers may be wary of buying something from a brand new seller with no feedback so if you can buy a few items relevant to your chosen business and recieve appropriate feedback, that will allay any fears customers may have from doing business with you.

Once you have a few feedback ratings you are now in a better position to start selling items. If you want to build your feedback further before you begin trading properly you can list some unwanted items from around the home. This will also give you vital practice as a seller, designing eBay listings and customer service.

5. Make It All Legal

If you are going to sell items for profit on eBay, then you need to register as a business with the tax office. You may be tempted to just run the business on the side and keep all of the money tax-free, but if you get caught the penalties will be harsh. There are significant tax advantages to registering as a business so it is something you should make sure is in place within three months of first selling on eBay. Discuss your options with your local business support office, your bank or an accountant.