Starting a business through eBay can be a messy process.
There are no fixed channels to go through; the website itself simply provides a means of selling and buying items, but no training to get you up and running, and no off-the-shelf marketing to help you bring in those customers.
As such, those looking to set up shop for the first time might be daunted when they first start their journey.
There have been hundreds of thousands of words written on how best to approach eBay. But fortunately, there are a few key lessons that we can get across in a much shorter article.
Let’s take a look at how to get started with an eBay business, and how best to get around the obstacles you encounter along the way.
Put the Customer First
If your eBay business is to succeed, you’ll need to accumulate positive feedback. The more feedback you have, the safer that your customers will feel buying from you.
As a rule, sellers with feedback lower than 99% will struggle. This means that you’ll have to start small, but it also means that you’ll need to do everything possible to keep your customers happy.
Don’t be afraid to ask for an endorsement when everything’s gone through.
Expanding Inventory
As your operation expands, so too will the amount of space you need to store all of your products for immediate shipping.
Delays will harm your feedback rating, and thus you’ll need to set aside the space to keep those items ready to go.
This might mean setting aside a part of your home for storage purposes; it might, on the other hand, mean investing in dedicated storage space.
Finding things to Buy
One thing that eBay can’t do for you is to track down saleable items. You’ll need to work on finding stuff you can sell predictably, with a healthy mark-up.
This means sending out emails and making phone calls, building relationships with suppliers, and researching what the market is looking for.
If you’re experienced with this business outside of eBay, then your skillset will likely translate to selling within it.
Financing
Once you’ve gotten the hang of things, you might want to expand quickly.
Ecommerce business loans provide a way of doing this. Before you take one out, however, you’ll want to be sure that you have a rock-solid plan for your expansion, and that you’ve anticipated, to the greatest possible degree, any bumps you’re likely to encounter along the way.
Avoid Quick Solutions
If all of this sounds daunting, then don’t worry: you’re in good company. In fact, there are so many people struggling to get started on the site that a whole industry has emerged looking to sell ready-made eBay businesses.
These are, for the most part, to be treated with extreme caution: they tend to make their money by charging an up-front fee, which means that they have no stake whatsoever in the success of the business being sold.
The slow approach is therefore usually the best one: pick a niche that you’re interested in, start slowly, and build momentum from there.
Are you thinking about starting an eBay business?
