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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Many people have hobbies that they love.  It might be woodworking, or creating baby blankets, sewing beautiful quilts, cooking a certain culinary specialty that is distinct and unique.  The list is endless.

What is your niche? Do you continually hear from friends and family that people would pay good money for the service or product that you create?  Have you ever dreamed of turning that hobby into a lucrative business?  If so, how can you make that leap and still take every precaution to avoid a big crash?  What steps needs to be instigated that will build toward growing a successful business venture?

Begin Small and Work Up

The first key to launching your own business is to begin small.  If you are quilting or making products by hand, start by advertising locally and taking only a few orders at a time.  By working as many hours, or by taking as many orders as you can comfortably handle will ensure that you are working at your own pace and can still produce quality products.

One entrepreneur baked a wonderful key lime pie which everyone raved about. When he chose to begin his business, he borrowed a friend’s delicatessen kitchen when it was not in use.  That way, he made no large equipment purchases until he had proven his market.  This is another method of beginning small with no massive investment.

Market Study

Do many people want what you have to offer – or just your friends?  Is your market local or national?  Is the need widespread?  Is there any profit margin?  One home-schooling mom loved spending time online exchanging used home-school text books and workbooks with other moms.  Soon she was buying and selling them on eBay, and then she began a home schooling magazine which gained national exposure.  She found the need and ascertained the profit margin on a small scale first before expanding nationally.

Can It Scale?

For this home schooling mom, her endeavor lent itself to scaling upward, but is it so with your hobby?  Just because you can make one personally designed baby blanket, could you turn them out on a large volume?  You must decide in advance if you are willing to go for exponential growth, or if your hobby can even maintain such growth.  If not, what if you sold your design patterns through a special online newsletter?  When you get creative, you will find there are many ways to scale upward.

One-Time or Repeat Purchases?

For the entrepreneur who bakes pies, this is a consumable product which people who love the pies will purchase over and over again.  Does your hobby allow repeat purchases?  Or is it more nearly a one-time purchase?  If you fashion custom-made playground equipment, that is probably not a customer who will be making a repeat purchase anytime soon.  But there can be many referrals through that one sale.  All of these points can be considered as you sit down to create your business plan – which will be necessary before launching your new business.

Don’t Poison Your Passion

Beware that by turning your passion into a business that you don’t poison your passion in the process.  When working on your hobby, you worked when you felt like it.  In a business, you answer customer’s demands.  Your hobby allowed you to work with no pressure, but a real business holds certain demands and pressures.  Will the passion be strong enough to survive through the work and the responsibility?  Are you disciplined enough to maintain the kind of output that will be required?

Keep in mind that when your hobby becomes a business, you will be involved in matters that have nothing to do with the hobby — matters such as sales, advertising, accounting, promotions.  How will your personality adapt to these chores? This is why it’s important to begin small.  While it remains small, you can still stop and cut back before it’s too late.

Finding Financing

For many fledgling businesses, there are small business loans and possibly even grants to get you off and going.  You may need help with your business plan in the beginning.  A business plan will be necessary to apply for such financing.  There are government agencies that provide assistance in these areas.  Check them out.  Creating a business plan will be a good first step toward learning to format and maintain good clear records.  Fortunately, nowadays there are accounting software packages that are easy to use and will help you keep all records clear – especially for tax purposes.

Showing a Profit

Any new business, whether based on a hobby or not, demands time before a profit shows up on the bottom line.  But what better way to wait for that profit than to be doing what you love?

If you understand that it will require planning, thinking ahead, discipline and hard work, then turning your hobby into a lucrative business is not an impossible dream.  It could happen for you.

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.

Numerous books, videos, blogs, audios have been produced on how to make money online. The bitter truth is that nobody says it takes serious work and commitment to finding success online. You must invest your money or time or both. In most cases you have to invest much.

This is true for those who are trying to blog online for success. I speak with authority on this issue as one that has initiated a series of blogs, it took me time to start earning money from my blogs. During this period I had overheads and had to pay my household.

It takes about 6 months to start earning some money online if you choose to use free methods to promote your blog or website. If you are really in line with his writing, this is the amount of time you need to make your content will appear in searches. This is a slow method, but I can assure you that this will give long-term sustainability. Imagine the content you would if you sent 2 or 3 blogs a week for 6 months.

If you choose to use payment methods to promote your blog or website that you will take a much shorter time than its contents appear in searches. I personally know that the conduct of research and writing great content is a good amount of time.

There are lots of serious online businesses. Many of us think that success online comes in a matter of days. No, no, no. Internet is full of stories of those who have succeeded online. For those who can figure income in 6 hours or days. This success comes to those who have already invested much time and money on your Internet activities. They rarely read the stories of those who have failed online. You will agree with me that there are millions out there that have not been able to do it online.

I know many people who started their blogs to the journey of the Bank, but left after systematically record for a month. They were led to believe that the success of the Internet is available in 24 hours or 48 hours. If you search in the niche of making money online will find keywords like, make money fast, make money fast, and make your first million faster and many others.

When it comes to making money online, all think that there are no shortcuts. I have received hundreds of gifts of books with titles like “How to make $ 1,000 in an hour,” How to make $ 60,000 in 48 hours. Everyone does that sound to find success online is as easy as enjoying a good meal.

There are some basic things to do to be successful online, whether they are admitted or not. Believe me, many of them are boring. The online success comes more quickly with the support and the process can be accelerated through the use of payment methods.

To succeed in their company blogs that have research content and keywords to blog about, you have to get traffic to content and need to convert your visitor’s money. Online success is measured by how much money you make. The amount of money you earn depends on the quality of its content and quality of your traffic.

What could be a more enjoyable way to make easy money fast than to sit on your computer and answer questions and give your opinion? Not every survey paying site is reliable, and if you want to  make money online, surveys given through a reputable base company that has access to multiple survey sites is the easiest method to ensure you have plenty of opportunities to earn money. Advice as to which surveys are suited to you is taken by the main website, and they will then fill your email inbox with all relevant surveys from their various connected websites.

If you sign up with a company that hosts a minimum of a hundred survey sites, you should soon begin to make easy money fast.

Another piece of earn money advice is to select an affiliate program and spend an hour or two a day fishing for customers to make money. Ideas include using your link as an under message signature at web forums for related topics, chatting about the product in message boards at community websites and groups, and finding lists of people involved with the nature of the product at which to start up a random conversation and ‘let slip’ that you know about a product that might be of interest to them.

In order to make money fast online you will need to remain polite, and not continue to pester people if they do not seem as interested as you had hoped. If you leave them to think about it, maybe in a few days their interest will turn into a sale.

Other ways to make money fast online include signing up for pyramid business schemes. You simply become a link in the chain, and once you have established a large enough group of connections, you can sit back and do nothing to earn money. Advice to continue seeking out those who may be interested after a short coffee break is sometimes given, if you are finding it tough to interest anyone at all within the first few days.

To make easy money fast, you will need to follow all the advice and guidelines given. This can make it much easier for you, even if you do have innovative make money ideas.

To make money, online surveys, affiliate programs, and pyramid systems are the best ways. Some surveys may pay up to fifty pounds for taking them. You can make money fast online by participating in a handful of surveys each week, taking just a few hours of your time without any actual work involved. Affiliate programs and pyramid systems start out with your needing to put more time and effort in to make easy money. Fast gains can only be attributed to either luck or serious effort on that first week. But it can happen, and within a couple of weeks you can wave goodbye to your big bad boss and work from home.

How Big is the World Wide Web?

It’s a scary thought to jump into the fray that is known as the World Wide Web.  Exactly what does it look like out there?  It’s no secret that the growth of the Internet is exploding.  It is used by the smallest entity, such as a family posting their family vacation photos, to the most massive corporations like Coca-Cola and Nike.

Because the Internet is in such a fluid state (sites being put up and taken down every second) it’s difficult to measure its exact size.  However, in 2007 a respected survey company called Netcraft Web Server Survey made an attempt to number existing websites.  The best they could come up with was over 108 million.  Whether that number is correct or not is beside the point.  The point is, it is big, and because of this fact, how will you even find your place?  And how can you compete with the big boys to earn your piece of the Internet profit pie?

Techniques

If you were to open a new restaurant in the trendy part of your town or city, you would obviously be faced with the fact that 1. there will be competition, and 2. unless you advertise and promote, no one will know you even exist.  There will be marketing techniques you must learn, such as how to design the décor of your restaurant to appeal to the best customers; how to offer the best products (your culinary delights) to please the customers; how to understand money management, accounting, advertising and so on.  It’s no different when marketing online.

Planning Stages

Before you even begin to build a web site, you must decide what you want to accomplish and how will you accomplish it?  While the basic goal is to earn an income from the website, what is it that you will be offering through your web pages?  Will it be products, services, or information?  Will this be items of your own design, or will you be an affiliate for another company?  Will your site enable visitors to make the purchase at your site, or will your site be a landing page which leads them to where the purchase can be made?

Once you have answered these questions and have your goals clearly in mind, you will be ready for the next step – building the site.

Building your Web Site

How are your web-building skills?  Are you creative and handy with HTML code and layout design?  Or will you need help?  One answer is to hire a website designer. This is if you have the cash to pay for one.  The good news is there are many varieties of website-building software available and many are free.  Nearly all of them offer a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web editor to create the pages. It’s as easy as typing into a Word document.  A little research and you’ll have the tools needed to create the site you need.  Once you find the right software you can have a site online in less than a day.

Wooing Visitors

Let’s say you are highly interested in automotive products.  Perhaps you’ve been rebuilding old cars all your life.  On your website, you can offer hard-to-find parts and accessories.  You will then create ads or product links for a number of different merchants whose products you represent by using a snippet of Web code downloaded from the retailer.

How many affiliate programs can you locate that are in your niche?  As your marketing knowledge grows and improves, so will your website.  You will be adding page after page after page presenting your visitors with the exact products they are looking for. Additionally, you may offer industry news, a free newsletter, ebooks and other informational items.

In order for your visitors to find you, you will need promotion and exposure.  This is done in a wide variety of ways.  There many online marketing guides and ebooks from which you can glean dozens of ideas.   You may begin with articles and blogs which will have within them imbedded links to your website.  You may want to purchase pay-per-click, AdWords, banners, or advertising in ezines.  Only you can decide which direction to go with promotion.  The key is persistence.  It will take time to build up your audience.  Without a doubt, the hardest part of earning money from your own site is getting people to visit. This is where you will need to invest the most time and effort. Never give up!   But be aware, once you build up a trust relationship with your visitors, they will come back.    Once the hardest part is done, and you can then reap the rewards.

Summary

And now that you’ve created one website with one niche and you’ve begun to make sales on a consistent basis, you can do it again.  And again.  And again.  Could you do that with a corner restaurant that you’ve opened?  Hardly.

That is the beauty of earning money from your own website on the Internet.

The growth of eBay has been nothing less than phenomenal.  Consider these statistics:

• eBay is the fastest-growing business ever in history. This refers not only to America, but globally as well.
• eBay has over 200 million registered users
• Over 2 million people visit eBay every day
• Over $100,000 worth of sales are made on eBay every single minute

Considering this explosive growth, does that mean that eBay is simply a shooting star that is due to burn out as quickly as it lit up?  That fact is that eBay commerce is stronger today than it has ever been before.  And there is no sign of it weakening or letting up.  What does this mean for you?

Finding Your Place at eBay

Those who have successfully learned how to harness the power of this incredible marketplace have become very wealthy.  Others are satisfied to make a few hundred bucks a month in extra cash.  Still others only use eBay as a quick and easy place to get rid of the extra stuff around the house – an alternative to having a tiresome garage sale. In which category do you fit?

For those who are seeking to make a good, steady and ever-growing income from buying and selling on eBay the best way to begin is to find a niche.  What products are you the most interested in?  This should be an area in which you have some basic knowledge.  Keep in mind you will be dealing with knowledgeable buyers.

Once you decide on a product niche, are you going to supply the products to sell, or will you wholesale and dropship?  Both can make a good living, but they are very different.  Some people begin by scouring flea markets and garage sales for items to sell on eBay.  For these individuals, it’s the fun of the chase and the excitement of discovery.  Others don’t want to leave the comfort of home.  They prefer to buy and sell items that they find online as opposed to someone’s basement or garage.

Anyone in any location on the planet can become an eBay dealer for thousands of different products.  You can study the product’s price and quality, then assess the demand and competition and offer it on eBay.  The merchant then takes care of warehousing, inventory, and shipping. You earn money from the difference between the wholesale price and the retail price – much like a merchant with a brick-and-mortar store.

If you are an affiliate marketer, there are some sellers who offer an “eBay storefront” as part of their available affiliate marketing tools.  This also is a great way to get into marketing on eBay with very little marketing knowledge.

How to Begin

eBay itself is a great resource for anyone wanting to become a seller or to increase sales successes.  The key here is to learn the fundamental rules of how eBay operates.  The more you know the more successful you will be.  Learn the rules for both buyers and sellers, details on prohibited items and listings, feedback and identity protection and management.  As a seller, be sure you understand all the rules as you list your auctions, because selling violations are serious and could lead to suspension or other action.

Do you understand how the bidding system works? If you don’t you will not make it as an eBay seller.

Do you understand how the fees are calculated?  There are tables found online that detail the fees eBay charges sellers for creating listings and selling items. You will find fee tables for ordinary items and also for larger products such as cars and homes.  Lack of understanding of the fees can cause you to miscalculate your profit margin.

All of these details and more are taught through the eBay University Learning Center right on the eBay site.  In addition to the resources on their site, they’re also offering eBay courses/seminars in various cities around the country.  It will be important to avail yourself of these resources to become the best eBay merchant you can possibly be.

A word of caution.  Because eBay commerce is so popular there are a lot of so-called gurus out there selling their eBay know-how to newbies.  Do your research and don’t fall for the scams.  There are good courses and viable software to help in your eBay endeavors, but only buy from the ones who are tried and proven.

Business Ethics

Nothing works in business better than being ethical and aboveboard in all business dealings.  Make it a point to under-promise and over-deliver in all that you do.  Go the extra mile.  Give the appearance of professionalism and then follow through.  If you are shipping, make sure your packages have a professional look to them.  If you promise to ship in five days, ship in three.  Add extra little bonuses that your buyers are not expecting.  These things are noticed by consumers; your feedback will be favourable and your trust levels will grow.  Hence your business will flourish.  That equates into profits.

Summary

Overall, it is relatively simple to get started making money on eBay.  You will not need a lot of technical savvy, nor will you have to have a website.  Cash outlay will be minimal.  The key is to spend quality time learning how the system works, and then harness the power of this incredible online marketplace.  You too can make money by using the gargantuan store that we know as eBay.