Making Money On eBay - Getting Started With The Basics

By Thomas Griffin

Ebay is one of the most popular auction websites that offers a range of advantages to its buyers and visitors. The first and most obvious advantage is pricing. Since eBay is operating on auction basis, it is often possible to get lower rates on certain goods, and sometimes these rates are so low that it's hard to believe. However, benefits are provided not only to buyers, but also to people who are selling items through eBay.

Getting Started

The first thing to keep in mind is that competition is "wide awake", especially in such a lucrative field as sales. So, how do you get started with your eBay business? Your first option is to get registered, provide identification details and either buy or sell a product to acquire a status of a "verified" user. Why do you need to get that status? That is because "verified" users will be able to receive feedback from other eBay users. Perhaps you won't be surprised at the usefulness of positive feedback.

Getting positive feedback is a separate issue that matters a lot if you want to make money on eBay. To receive it, you should do your best to keep buyers satisfied. So, pay attention to the accurateness of your product descriptions, adequate pricing, and accepting most convenient methods of payment, such as paypal, cheques, and money orders.

Choosing The Product

When choosing the product to sell, your first consideration will be a potential demand for it. You can check that by looking through the history of sales on eBay website and find out what categories of products are used to get the best sales. You can also browse eBay product catalogs to see what kind of products are offered for sale, what level of competition they have, and what are average prices they get sold at. Consider selling products that are not too competitive, and are harder to find yet still in demand. Selling rare products also entitles you to set higher prices on them.

Looking for A Good Supplier

Once you decide on the product to sell, you'll need to research the suppliers' market. You can consider drop shipping that is a very popular way to make money on eBay. In that case you'll need to look for a reputable wholesaler who will agree to work with you. So, you'll be placing product listings on eBay website, and taking orders form buyers. Then, you'll be redirecting those orders to the wholesaler and making sure that the buyer receives the purchase. Thus, dropshipping allows you to do without initial investment into inventory and shipping overheads.

It's better to start selling products on auction basis. Try to set as low starting price as possible, since it will encourage consumers to bid on the product.

About the Author: