Opening An Ebay Store

[cupcakemafia]

Has anyone had any success, or know of anyone that has had success running an eBay store (or online store of any other kind)? Is it worth it? What sort of investment, financially, would need to be made? What sort of stuff would you most likely buy from an eBay store? What would make you buy from an eBay store as opposed to a "bricks and mortar" store?

Thanks in advance!!

[Jaileth]

Hi emma,

Ok. You've actually asked two questions - ebay store & other on line store.

Alright. Ebay first.

I worked for a company that sold computers, and they would quite often put them up on ebay for sale. Generally they would go fairly quickly. My advice to you is to stick to something you know - because the people who are buying from you are going to want to know details - and start off small. Don't start stocking up on things until you know that they are going to sell. Do you do a type of craft? Start off by doing a few things, take some photos, put them up for sale and see how they go.

Also watch what other people who sell similar items to you do. I would watch the outcomes of various auctions of things that you would be interested in selling and see how they go. Try and figure out how much it cost the seller, and how much profit they are making and you should be able to see if its worthwhile or not.

Ok. Other online stores.

The best things I can say to you is if you do start up one of these stores - 1. Only ever offer one product to start with. If you want to sell Perfumes, only sell one type to start with. If the site takes off, then try slowly adding others, at a rate of, say, 1 every two or three months. And 2. Link to and get links from as many other sites as you can. This way you'll be highly ranked on search engines.

As to what people will buy on the net - anything!!! Just have a look on ebay to find out.


(Apologies if we aren't meant to talk about this kind of thing on the forum - feel free to delete this if it breaks any rules!)

[JeSsIkA]

Hi

I am currently looking online for a Baby Born Jogger.. so a store selling those would be great. they are soo hard to find..

but to your question i would buy anything and everything online.... but only if its cheaper including poatage than from a shop.

[Ineedsleep]

Have you sold anything on ebay yet? If not start just selling stuff from home to get the hang of it - buy a few things too to get some feedback.

This is a good australian website that has a forum you can ask questions purely about ebay - www.auctionedge.com.au (no affiliate or anything here admin).

there are HEAPS of free ebooks out there also - i don't see the need to pay for anything at this stage unless it is really good.

Good luck

[MariaZen]

I just opened an online store in November. It has not been an easy ride for me. Lucky, for me I have a full time job. Plus, I have a friend who sells at the markets, so she sells my stuff when she is feeling up to it.

Highly recommended book to read is Starting An Online Business for Dummies by Greg Holden.

Here are my tips:

Choose a web designer and host ( preferably a package) who will not charge you heaven and earth. I highly recommend my Web Designer - Web Ideas. (http://www.web-ideas.com.au)

Specialise on items ie perfumes, baby products, stationery, etc.

Buy small stocks.( 1 ot 2 for a particular item) Some wholesalers will have minimum orders, try to avoid these people.

Advertise on Google Adwords.

Link to as many business sites and forums.

Competitions - get people to register and participate on competitions. This will increase your Customer DataBase.

Send Newsletter

If you are not getting the sales that you want, just to hell with it and have fun!!!
That is my attitude now.It is funny when you relax because the business starts to attract sales. :)

Make sure you stick to your budget. I think $2-4K is realistic. ( inc Website and stocks) It all depends on what you are selling.

[Mother Duck]

Hi there - thanks for asking these questions - very interesting reading!

I use e-bay all the time as it is the easiest way for me to get things I otherwise don't have access to. (Myabe focus on finding things that are easy for you but not stocked in rural areas - that will be basically anything that is not mainstream!)

My favourite sellers are those who just take a little time, ie pop goods in sandwich bags before posting to reduce air and size of satchel thus reduce cost

Or those who pop a little note in with product etc

Good Luck

I look forward to checking out your e-store!

[kiwibird27]

E-bay is great I sell all my ols stuff and occasionally buy some stuff in bulk and sell it off - I make pocket money - need to do as a real business to make real money
How about a store where you can buy everything you need for a new baby at one good low price - nem mums and dads would be soooooo HAPPY e.g. cot, mattress, highchair, pram, changetable all at once - no more thinking!!!!!!!!!!!

[Funkychicken]

Hi there,
Some tips I received from a Power Seller named Daniel (can't recall surname but has a great book out about selling on Ebay) when I met him at a market.

1) List items for at least 7 days, preferably 10, taking at least one weekend of this time.

2) End items on Sunday evening. Heaps of people go online Sunday nights.

3) End items at approximately 8pm. People are home from work, have finished dinner and generally go online around this time. Definately don't let an item end in the middle of the night.

4) Include at least 2 high quality photos, if not more. A photo speaks a thousand words.

5) Be descriptive. Make your description interesting and very detailed.

6) Pre determine postage costs. Saves a lot of pointless emails asking for postage.

7) Be friendly and courteous. Your feedback status is of utmost importance. If someone is very unhappy with something they have purchased from you, offer them a refund. Cut your losses to save a negative feedback. Most people will appreciate the offer but say never mind.

8) Be totally honest about the items. As above, your feedback status needs protecting.

As an example, we bought a bed from someone who listed it in minor detail with no photos for $20.00. We brought it home, photographed it, gave it a beautiful description and resold it for $265.00. It pays to be thorough!
Hope these tips are useful to you.

[Ineedsleep]

I think Daniel has the auctionedge website I mentioned above. There's not a lot of traffic but Daniel will answer your q's if no-one else does.

Let us know how you go or what you decide.

[amandajane]

my advice....RESEARCH. find a niche.
My son has Thomas Take Alongs and both myself and DH are collectors, the 'if you have more than one you have to have the whole set' kind. A few of these Take Alongs take a long time (like over a year) to be released here after they are released in America. One person was selling these items on ebay and getting very good prices.
A friend of mine was buying Body Shop stuff online from the UK (apparently they have double the range we have here) as well as locally and selling it on ebay and was doing quite well. Perfume is something else you can buy quite cheaply from OS, but lots of people are already doing that.

Good luck and let us know how you go.:)

[Ana Gram]

I'm also looking at starting an online store (jumping on the bandwagon) I want to know how people cope with the ongoing costs of running their webpage?