Selling On eBay – 9 Steps to Making An Excellent Living
9 Steps to Make a Living Selling On eBay
Ecommerce has made our life easier. In fact, it has invented many different ways for both businesses and customers to get involved and benefit more. For example, traditionally, businesses used to sell their products to customers indirectly. People needed to go to a store and wasted their time and money buying those products.
A direct relationship between businesses and customers was implausible. Or, if customers didn’t use to need a product, they just threw it at the basement without any hope to make something out of it anymore. With e-commerce, customers are also benefitting a lot. How? With the help of many different platforms, you can advertise the items you don’t need anymore, and interested people will come and buy them right away. eBay is one of the most interactive and engaging platforms to do so.
Every day, millions of people from every corner of the world are selling or buying items on it. So, are you interested in starting to buy or sell on eBay? Do you know the ways you can make money? And, how should you manage your businesses there? We will find out what eBay is and how you can make a living by selling on eBay. Before getting started, we need to know what e-commerce means.
What are the basics of e-commerce?
Ecommerce is a short phrase for electronic commerce. Basically, electronic commerce is the action of buying a product or service online. E-commerce has constantly been growing over the past few years due to its easement, reliability, and comfortability. Also, it is not just limited to small or medium-sized companies. In fact, the majority of companies are dependent on it, regardless of their size. Companies and people who are following the dream of becoming a professional freelancer are also benefiting from e-commerce.
Benefits of eCommerce?
Here are some interesting benefits of e-commerce you might be interested to know:
- – It is literally the fastest growing retail market.
- – With e-commerce, your market becomes global. Then, you are much more likely to make sales since you can find your target audience easier.
- – Your business is always online! It means that you are selling products and services in another time zone even when you are sleeping.
- – You don’t need to limit yourself to normal 8 am to 5 pm jobs anymore. Also, you don’t have to work from one single location, namely your office! You can manage your business whenever and wherever you want. Are you travelling? Are you out of town? Are you spending time with family and friends? It doesn’t matter. With one laptop and a fast internet connection, you will be able to sort your work out.
- – With e-commerce, you can start your business with less investment at first. Also, you don’t need to rent a physical store or waste money on infrastructure. Everything can be started by a professional website which is much less expensive.
What Are The Essentials Of Any e-Commerce?
Here are things you need to set up your e-commerce business:
A Product Or Service
First of all, you need a product or service that you feel connected with. Don’t try to sell things you are not interested in at all. You know why? Because you might be able to sell very well in the first few months. However, you will get bored of it very fast because you are not passionate about it. You can make a product from scratch and sell it online. Or, you can sell for other companies.
Before choosing a product or service to sell, you have to ask yourself some questions first. What companies are selling the product/service? Are there enough customers out there? Is your product unique? The more unique your product is, the less competition you have to deal with for selling it. Try to sell something that solves a problem.
- Secondly, you will need a place to sell. It doesn’t need to be a physical place. A professional website does the job. You can get help from CMS or a content management system. It provides the basic framework for your website, allowing you to add products, accept payments, and control your online store. Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce are some of the examples here. What CMS platform should you use? For choosing the right CMS, consider pricing, scalability, flexibility, and ease of use.
- Thirdly, you have to have processed payment. This needs to be very reliable. Otherwise, people will not buy from you if they feel some monkey businesses are involved with your payment processes. Your process payment must be compatible with your platform. Also, you should make sure that the payment process is working well in the country you are running your business. Accepting different currencies, fees, reliability & reporting are some of the other factors you have to think about. Also, the customers must not think that they are left alone in the payment process. Customer support matters a lot here. Paypal is highly recommended.
- This one is crucial. You must have a marketing strategy. In some ways, you have to attract the customers' attention to your business. It is more of a trial and error. You have to try different things and see what is bringing you traffic and what it isn't. For example, social media is one of the best places to promote your products or services. Social networking websites such as Instagram, YouTube, etc., help you improve brand awareness.
Where Is eBay?
eBay is an American e-commerce corporation founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar. eBay is one of the greatest places for people or businessmen/women who like to engage consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer approaches. It is basically an online auction and shopping website. People can sell and buy whatever they like on it. As a buyer, you will not need to pay anything for buying from eBay. However, sellers must pay a fee to be able to advertise and sell their products online.
Ways To Make A Living By Selling On eBay.
So, you might be wondering how we can make a living from selling on eBay? What are the ways? Here, we are going to discuss them for you.
Signing Up For A Free Account
It is risky to use the eBay business account sign-up option when you don’t have enough experience. So, try to use the regular eBay registration. eBay business accounts are for people who are sure about building their online business. I know! It is exciting to start right away, but you should learn to be patient.
Buy Something On eBay.
One of the best ways to understand how it feels to buy something on eBay is to do a transaction as a buyer and observe everything very clearly. Here, you will be understood what to pay attention to. You can see what attracts you—photos, headlines, prices, etc.
Sell A Few Items
It is always good to start with just a few products. In this way, you can accurately observe how the platform is working. For example, if you take a look at your room, you will probably find some items you don’t need anymore—a basketball, a CD player, an old TV, you name it. You can start with these items. After picking one or two items, you have to take some professional pictures of them. Photos are essential because it is one of the first things people usually see on these platforms.
The next thing to do is preparing a very brief but engaging description of the product you are going to sell. Bidders are usually waiting for the first person to start the auction. So, please start with a price, and then bidders can revise the first suggestion. You should also be completely clear about your shipping policy.
Send An Invoice To The Winning Buyer Through The eBay Interface.
You can easily send invoices to the customers through your eBay account. If you want to make sure that customers have paid for the product or service, don’t be impatient and control yourself. When you are sure that the money is paid, pack up the item and ship it as soon as possible.
Giving And Asking For Feedback
You should always be open to feedback. They are always there, whether positive or negative. Also, try to ask your customers to express their opinions about the products. These were the basics you needed to know. If somebody is not happy with a product, don’t leave them aside. Contact them and ask them to express their criticism.
At this point, if you do all the abovementioned things, you can say that your business has been established. Now, you need to grow your eBay business. From now on, we are going to talk about these steps. Here they are:
Pick A Niche
Sooner or later, the items that you have around your house are going to run out. Then, you have to think about other options. So, you have to look for similar products that you have already sold on eBay. There are some places in which you can check and find items. For example, you can go to yard sales or thrift stores. Or, you can buy people's items in bulk and try to sell them again one by one on eBay if you could find items related to your niche.
Another option is buying products through a drop-shipper or wholesaler. For example, you can buy 100 of an item and then sell it separately. In this way, you can make a profit per item. A benefit of this is that drop shipping companies will label your business. Accordingly, shipping will be free for you. It means your profit per item will be increased. So, it is always good to focus on only one niche and expand your business around it.
Opening An eBay Store
You can upgrade your eBay business. There are many advantages associated with eBay's store option. Features like custom online store, increasing free listings, lower final value fees, and marketing tools are all included in this plan.
eBay Alternatives
although eBay is the most recognizable e-commerce platform globally, it is not alone in the market. There are many competitors out there. Some of the most powerful ones are Amazon, Etsy, Bonanza, Craigslist, eBid, Rakuten, Newegg, and eCrater. You can buy and sell many different items on many of them. However, some others are more specific.
For example, Amazon is similar to eBay, but it is a bit cheaper. Or, you can buy/sell everything on eBay, but Etsy is a platform for handmade, vintage, and boutique niches. What about Bonanza? It is similar to eBay because you can buy/sell everything on it. However, if you are looking for wired or extraordinary items, Bonanza will be a perfect choice.
What's next? Craigslist! They are also different. For example, Craigslist only charges some post types like job listings or vehicles, but eBay charges everything. Also, unlike eBay that gets involved in any disputes, Craigslist stays out of any conflicts. What about eBid? eBid is cheaper, and the risk is lower, but it's smaller than eBay and receives less traffic. However, both eBid and eBay have an auction-style format for product listings.
Summary
we are all dependent on online shopping these days. Ecommerce can not only improve the quality of our life, but it can also create a new source of revenue for all of us. eBay is one of the most famous platforms in the field of electronic commerce. It has customer-to-customer and business-to-customer business models. It is fast, reliable, reasonably cheap, and comparable to many other platforms in the market.
Here, we discussed the steps you need to have to make a living on eBay. The most important thing is to start gradually and thoughtfully and then expand your business and upgrade features. I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. If you are interested in more content, don’t forget to follow us because we come very soon with new content. Take care.
JeannetteZ
I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experience, remarks, and/or suggestions about eBay in the comments section below. You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.
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