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Ebay
started back in 1995 when Pierre Omidyar made up a website to sell
his broken laser pointer. Then by 1997 the Ebay site had sold over 1
million items. Now Ebay is the world’s largest online shopping
marketplace. In 2005 Ebay sold a gross merchandise volume of 45
Billion dollars. Ebay Operates worldwide in over 33 different
countries, with over 200 million registered users. At any particular
time Ebay has approximately 100 million items available for sale
with over 6.5 million items added each day. It is estimated that a
digital camera is sold every minute and a musical instrument is sold
every 30 seconds. The most expensive item ever sold has been a
Gulfstream Jet which went for 4.9 million dollars.
Often
I get asked why I started an Ebay business and why I think it is the
perfect home based business. Personally I believe that everyone
should be buying and selling on Ebay. It is the perfect business
because you can do it from home and set your own hours. You can work
as little or as much as you want. You can start selling items with
very little time commitment, and you can do the computer work and
email at your own pace. Personally I do email in the evenings during
commercials while I am watching TV.
You don’t need any special
skills to sell on Ebay, all you need is basic computer knowledge and
be able to figure out how to use a digital camera. If you do have
some kind of specialized knowledge that is even better as you can
use that information to specialize your sales to specific markets.
There is also no need to carry a large inventory. In fact when
someone is just starting out, I recommend that they sell merchandise
that they already have. The average person has between $1500 and
$2000 worth of stuff sitting in their basement gathering dust. They
could sell this stuff and never even miss it. Think of that ugly old
Thing-a-ma-jig you got from your great aunt 2 years ago, which has
been gathering dust in the closet. You have always been afraid to
re-gift it because everyone knows she gave it to you. Well now you
can sell it on Ebay and ship it across the country without her ever
finding out that you got rid of it. Another big advantage about Ebay
is that there is no big outlays of cash at start up. There is no
special equipment needed, you don’t have to rent store space, and
you don’t need employees.
Another big advantage is that
you can get the whole family involved and turn some of your hobbies
into a working business. Now when you go to a garage sale with your
spouse, you can buy items to sell on Ebay rather than just fill up
your garage with them. Also you can get the kids involved, they can
clean and package items, and carry packages to the post office for
you. When the kids grow out of their cloths or get tiered of their
new toys, you can just sell them on Ebay rather than throw them out.
Also you can buy their replacements on Ebay as well. Now you are not
only generating cash but saving money as well! If you have hobbies
then you can use your specialized knowledge to increase your own
collections or deal in that type of merchandise with authority. The
thing I like best about selling on Ebay, is that I do not have to
deal with customers directly in a face-to-face manner. Everything is
done through email and I never have to speak to a single customer.
The most important advantage
about an Ebay business is that you are the master of your own
destiny. The more items you sell, the more income you generate.
Remember if you treat your selling like a hobby then it will pay you
like a hobby, BUT if you treat it like a business then it will pay
you like a business. Also because it is a home based business, you
will get numerous tax advantages such as deductions for a home
office, and mileage on your vehicle while looking for sale items.
The most important thing is that you get some form of education
before you start any home based business. In a future article I will
give you a detailed break down of what you should be looking for in
an Ebay home study course, and more importantly some of the warning
signs you should be looking out for and to avoid!
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