Are you easily distracted? Do you find yourself mindlessly surfing when you are near your computer? Then selling on eBay might not be for you, because it will require hard work and focus. The time vs money trade off is critical, and if you waste time, your returns will be much less. Anyone can turn a $5 garage sale find into $20, but can you do it in 15 minutes, or will it take you all afternoon?
It’s great not to have a boss telling you what to do, but some people need that to keep on track. Are you able to walk away when it’s time for dinner? When you have your own business, your work is never done, and you need to know when to hang it up for the day (or night).
There is a phenomenon we call “clicking, clicking” which is the zone Internet addicts find so hard to escape from. Surfing the Internet occasionally is time consuming, but when you have an eBay business, you are tempted to check your listings frequently, as well as check your PayPal account, and any other online accounts related to your business.
Some people are great at distancing themselves from the day to day results, while others can’t stop “clicking, clicking” for up to the minute details! Assess your Internet skills thus far and if you are the type who cannot stay away, either modify your behavior or go in another direction.
Where will you work?
Do you have a space for a home office/workshop? It’s essential that you find a quiet place to work, away from the other distractions of your life.
How will you acquire the product to sell?
Most sellers follow this pattern:
Beginner: first they sell items from around their home.
Advanced beginner: they start scouting garage sales and thrift stores for used items to resell
Intermediate: buy multiples of new products to resell from store closings, clearance sales, wholesale outlets
Advanced intermediate: buy online auction lots to resell
Expert: sourcing directly from manufacturers and wholesalers who may dropship
When we started selling Lego, we found that it was hard to obtain large quantities at discounted prices. The Lego company was not interested in selling to us. So our supply constraints forced us to move on to additional product lines.
Is there are market for what you want to sell?
There’s not much demand for outdated computers, no matter how cheaply you acquire them.
Stay Flexible
We can’t emphasize this enough. The internet is constantly changing, and you need to change with it. Product and pricing strategies that work now may not work next year. A new competitor may appear. Product supply or demand may change. eBay itself may change its focus, as it did in 2006 when it encouraged sellers to set up stores, and then later in the year raised fees to discourage them.
You don’t want to be caught with too much of the wrong inventory, the wrong tools, or too much overhead when the market goes in a new direction. eBay selling is best suited for people who can handle the ups and downs of the internet. For reasons unknown to you or anyone else, you may find sales doubled one week and halved the next. It’s hard to plan your time or to anticipate cash flow. The more flexible you are, the better you will handle it.
What do you like to do?
eBay selling requires lots of time in front of your computer. Will you like this, or do you need to be out interacting with people in person? You’ll be handling used items, dealing with customer problems, software glitches at eBay and PayPal, taking and editing pictures, and answering constant questions that may not turn into sales. Try it-you’ll either hate it, or become addicted.
Consider all these points before you jump into your eBay business, and your chances for success will be greatly increased!
