Whether it's an old mountain biker or a digital camera, chances are, someone on an online auction site like eBay or Yahoo! Auctions will pay good money for it. But before you start peddling your Minolta and Sony online, you should invest in some time, money and effort to learn about doing business the right way on the internet. Here's a suggested business proposal.
Hone Your Business Sense
The key to being a successful seller on eBay-or any type of business, really-is selling products that people want to buy. Even the best advertisement can't move an item that nobody desires. Top-selling items on eBay include clothing, computers, MP3 players, mobile phones and sporting accessories. On top of being priced competitively, unique and rare items do better than stuff they can get just about anywhere.
Do Your Research
Not everything in the back of your wardrobe or in the dank corners of your storeroom will fetch you a nice chunk of change. Make a list of stuff you want to sell and then research these items on the site. Find out if similar items have been successfully auctioned before, and what are the price ranges. You should also read up on before you start selling.
Get A Good Rapport
eBay and other online Auction sites like Yahoo! Auctions work on trust. To establish yourself as a credible seller, you have to build a positive feedback from your community of buyers. Potential buyers will size you up before they part with money for your "exotic" art piece. Start by building your feedback rating - probably by selling unwanted items from around the house. If a dispute arises between you and your buyer, think twice before typing up a scathingly bad rating. Slinging e-mud in the form of poor ratings means little for your credential and could well backfire on you. Try to sort it offline - you're here to make money, not enemies
Have A Marketing Plan
Like any business, you need to market your product effectively. In this case, it means investing in a decent digital camera to take pictures of the items you're selling. The better your pictures, the more attractive the product looks to the prospective buyer. And just so that someone who's selling the same item can't filch your picture and pass it off as his own, watermark your pictures using a simple software like MS Windows' Paint. Marketing your product also means describing it in a straightforward and honest way. Any kind of dishonesty will invariably come back and haunt you in the form of a bad selling rating.
Hone Your Business Sense
The key to being a successful seller on eBay-or any type of business, really-is selling products that people want to buy. Even the best advertisement can't move an item that nobody desires. Top-selling items on eBay include clothing, computers, MP3 players, mobile phones and sporting accessories. On top of being priced competitively, unique and rare items do better than stuff they can get just about anywhere.
Do Your Research
Not everything in the back of your wardrobe or in the dank corners of your storeroom will fetch you a nice chunk of change. Make a list of stuff you want to sell and then research these items on the site. Find out if similar items have been successfully auctioned before, and what are the price ranges. You should also read up on before you start selling.
Get A Good Rapport
eBay and other online Auction sites like Yahoo! Auctions work on trust. To establish yourself as a credible seller, you have to build a positive feedback from your community of buyers. Potential buyers will size you up before they part with money for your "exotic" art piece. Start by building your feedback rating - probably by selling unwanted items from around the house. If a dispute arises between you and your buyer, think twice before typing up a scathingly bad rating. Slinging e-mud in the form of poor ratings means little for your credential and could well backfire on you. Try to sort it offline - you're here to make money, not enemies
Have A Marketing Plan
Like any business, you need to market your product effectively. In this case, it means investing in a decent digital camera to take pictures of the items you're selling. The better your pictures, the more attractive the product looks to the prospective buyer. And just so that someone who's selling the same item can't filch your picture and pass it off as his own, watermark your pictures using a simple software like MS Windows' Paint. Marketing your product also means describing it in a straightforward and honest way. Any kind of dishonesty will invariably come back and haunt you in the form of a bad selling rating.
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