Why is starting an eBay business so appealing?

How do you turn your hobby selling on eBay into a successful eBay home business? That’s what I wanted to know when I interviewed Jason Carroll a successful entrepreneur and one of the world’s top work-at-home consultants.

Jason started his eBay business in late 2008 and since then he has scaled it up to a million pound operation.

In the following interview transcript I present what I think are the keys to successful eBay selling and Jason gives me his opinions, after all he is the expert!

My Question: How important is researching your products and potential market on eBay before listing products for sale?

Jason’s Answer: Researching eBay before listing a product or launching a store will answer the following 5 questions that are vital to your success as an eBay Seller:

• Is there a market for this product?
• How much is this item worth?
• Is the profit margin there?
• How much competition is there?
• Can I compete with the competition?

You need to know the answer to at least the first three of these questions before you bother to list something on eBay.

If you do not put in this market research then your eBay business could be doomed to fail before you even list your first item.

My Question: How important is it to the success of your eBay business that the products you are selling are both easy to package and not too expensive to ship?

Jason’s Answer: This is critically important! This was one of the first processes in my eBay business that I made as automated as possible.

I see far too many eBay sellers go out of business because they are either spending far too much time packaging or posting their items that they are not concentrating on selling or their items cost so much to send out that customers are not willing to purchase their item.

Take this foolish example:

Suppose you want to sell British seaside pebbles and rocks on eBay. It cost £25 to ship each rock to a European address and even more to send one anywhere else in the world. However, no one seems to want to pay more than £5.00 for a rock. You can see what would happen to your business. Obviously, it would be bust before you even started!

You need to know all the details about shipping an item before you list anything on eBay. Again just like your first question it is essential that you research everything before listing an item on eBay. Only then will you stand the best chance of creating a successful eBay business.

My Question: What would you include in the description of your products to improve chances they will sell?

Jason’s Answer: When you’re selling on eBay, the description of your products is your “Unique Selling Proposition”. It’s one of your big chances to get the viewer to want your product. (The other is the picture of the item.) So if you don’t invest time in developing a mouth-watering description of your product, you’re throwing away half your chance to sell it.

So you need to include details (such as colour, size, weight etc.) as well as features that set your product apart from other such products and make it desirable. For instance, you don’t just sell “teddy bears” on eBay. You sell “handcrafted, one-of-a-kind teddy bears”. The trick is to think like a purchaser. What would you want to know about the item? What would make you buy it?

Also, I would recommend looking at your competitor’s listings to see who is selling the most and take inspiration from them.

My Question: Some people are eager to make “LOT’S OF MONEY” with an eBay business. How realistic is this? What should your focus really be at first so that you can eventually make a decent return?

Jason’s Answer: Making a “LOT’S OF MONEY”  when you first start out is not a realistic expectation – but if you have the right products, do things right and are prepared to put in a little work and effort into your business, then making a good living is a realistic aim.

Because of the way that eBay works, your focus at first should be establishing yourself as a proven, trusted seller and building up the positive feedback you need to do this. If you want to run a successful eBay business, you have to take the time to do this.

Once you have succeeded in doing this then literally anything is possible! eBay is constantly churning out new self-made millionaires – here are some stories to inspire you.

My Question: eBay sellers can sometimes come across as unreliable, or at the very least obscure. What can you do to make buyers feel you are a serious business?

Jason’s Answer: Run your eBay business as a proper business from the get go. That means going through the steps of setting up a real business, charging appropriate taxes, following standard business practices and investing in things such as professional looking packaging.

My Question: Any books, Web sites or other reliable sources you can recommend for those who want to start a successful eBay business?

Jason’s Answer: eBay itself is a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to become an eBay seller or increase their eBay sales success. Besides the resources on eBay I now offer an eBay course that teaches people EXACTLY how to set-up an eBay business.

It’s a simple 5-Part Course and it also contains a lot of general business and marketing advice.

We have a few thousand members now and already have some success stories of our own which including a work-at-home mum Katie Matthews who now makes 6-figures a year from her eBay business.

To find out more about Jason Carroll’s eBay Course and how you can start a successful eBay business – read this detailed review here.

Short Bio:

Based in the U.S. Jason Carroll a former analysis and process consultant for Fortune 500 companies – He now runs a multi-million dollar eBay and Drop-shipping business. He also runs a eBay Success Course and a Success Consulting company.

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Before you decide to start-ups your own business you need to make sure that, you have a  marketing plan in place and that you are willing to pay out money on both websites and advertising. You should also account for other expenses such as travel, phone bills, office equipment and accounting.

Then you need to assess whether there is really a market for your idea and whether with the resources you have at your disposal you are really capable of pulling it off.

The desire to be successful is great but it does not guarantee that your business will take off!

Good management and marketing skills are essential and so it is wise to see what help is on offer to those of you who have no experience in these fields. Planning is paramount and some small businesses fail because they have just not thought ahead and planned properly for all eventualities.

So let’s consider some things that you and a potential business partner would need to discuss:

• Is there a market for the product/service? You should carry out extensive research into this.
• What kind of competition are you up against? Every business has competition and you need to be aware of who is doing what and whether they are doing it better and if you can even compete with them?
• Will the product maintain its appeal when fads and fashions change and, if so, are you and can you be ready to diversify if need be?
• How useful is your product or service? Will anyone really want to buy it if it’s quirky but of no use whatsoever?
• Is your product or service unique? How can you offer something over and above your competitors and what is going to be your unique selling point (USP)?
• Will a sale of your product or service generate repeat or further sales? Building a client base of repeat customers is a sure way to build a successful business. These loyal customers will not only buy more but could also help to grow the business through referral marketing.
• Is the product safe enough to be on the market? If it’s a manufactured product then it must comply with regulations and these must be adhered to.
• Have you got a plan B if it fails? Plan Bs often work better than As and it’s important not to put all your eggs into one basket.
• Most importantly have you sort advice from professionals in this field? There are a lot of companies available that offer professional coaching and courses. This maybe an expense but it could really benefit you in the long run. Have you explored these opportunities?

Lots of great business ideas are not actually completely original so if you can take a tried and tested product or idea that has worked well and adapt it in your own way and put a new spin on it, then this can work brilliantly.

No it’s not cheating! But remember you really do need to sit down and get some business advice before you rush headlong into anything and this can be obtained through many professional businesses, local organisations and even government funding.

Research it, plan it and then research it some more!

I hope this advice helps you it certainly the kind of advice I needed when I first started out in business.