Anyone running a wholesale or retail business must deal with legal and tax issues, and those who sell on eBay are no exception. Yet many eBay sellers remain ignorant of the consequences they may face if they disregard certain basic rules. Packed with stories of actual eBay sellers, this helpful guide takes readers through the most common eBay transactions, pointing out all the legal and tax issues they may encounter along the way. Readers will get practical advice on: (more…)

I was reading the latest copy of Cover magazine and I stumbled upon a wholesale company called Trademarkcommerce.com. This wholesale company has an interesting marketing pitch as they show you what the products they distribute sell for on eBay and Amazon.com.

I was intrigued to say the least, so I thought I would complete my own research and see if I could come up with the same final selling prices (on eBay) for some of the products they are wholesaling. The products I will be researching today are found on the flyer they are advertising.

You can research an items’ profitability on eBay!

Lets get started……

First of all, if you do not know how to research an item on eBay make sure you take some notes on the following steps:

1. Obviously, you will need to go to http://ebay.com
2. In the search field enter the item you are interested in researching, press search
3. Once the following page loads look to the right of the ‘search” button for the link “Advanced”
4. Once you have clicked the Advanced link you will be taken to a page where if you scroll down you will notice criteria stating ‘Search Including” – Check this box
5. Scroll down and click “Search”
6. Results that are displayed in GREEN closed with a winning bid
7. You can take those results and average the totals to get a good idea about whether the item in question will sell and how much you can expect to receive as a auction seller

The first product I researched on eBay was the Black iRobot. The advertised wholesale price from Trade Mark Commerce is $101.33. They advertise this product selling on eBay for $179.99.

When I searched eBay I found one iRobot had sold on eBay in the last two weeks and the final auction price was $149.99 with FREE Shipping. I would imagine that the seller paid at least $10 to ship this to the winning bidder, so profit looks to be $149.99 – $10 (Shipping) – $101.33 (Cost) = $38.66 before eBay listing and final value fees.

The second product I researched was the Advent GPS. The advertised wholesale price from Trade Mark Commerce is $99.99. They advertise this product selling on eBay for $229.99.

When I searched eBay I found one Advent GPS unit that had sold on eBay in the last two weeks and the final auction price was $140.24 with FREE Shipping. I would imagine that the seller paid at least $8 to ship this to the winning bidder, so profit looks to be $140.24 – $8 (Shipping) – $99.99 (Cost) = $32.25 before eBay listing and final value fees.

I should mention that while the above two items did sell on eBay, there were dozens of the same item that did not close with a winning bid. Using the ‘Completed” auction search feature on eBay is a great way to evaluate the profitability of an item you are thinking of reselling.

In my opinion, TradeMark Commerce might be a viable option for inventory. They certainly have a diverse product selection. You will need to sign up as a registered buyer before you will be able to view their entire online catalog. Once you are registered you can then check their pricing with the “Completed” item search feature found on eBay.

I would love to hear from anyone who has purchased from this company…any thoughts?

“A picture is worth a thousand words” is not just cheap talk, but smart thinking when it comes to taking pictures that will sell your eBay items. Taking quality photos for your auction items can either make or break your sale. Very little in the way of description is needed when you take a good picture, as the product will sell itself. The key to taking good quality pictures is focus. Focus on the item at hand. Blurry, distant photos are impossible to see and customers want to see what they are getting before spending their money. Due to the recent fall in economy people are trying to stretch their dollars. They are not making purchases unless they can clearly see what they are getting and if it is worth their money. They are looking for bargains.

You will want to have a clear, uncluttered background for your picture. The idea is to focus in on the item itself and not everything around it. Try to get a shot of your item as close up as you can without being too extreme. You will also want to have adequate lighting. If shooting a picture in the daytime, make sure that the light is behind you. You can take your picture near the window if you would like, but a filtered area, such as in front of sheer curtain or near it is best. It is best to use a digital camera if at all possible to shoot your pictures. Digital cameras are quick and easy, being able to download them on your computer. It is a great convenience. Cell phone cameras are a great invention and the convenience is incredible, but they do not always give the clearest of pictures. They will, however, suffice in a pinch.

Enhance your pictures today and make them clear and undeniably appealing to the buyer by using the right camera and the right techniques. Clear pictures will put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to being a top-notch seller as an eBay auctioneer. Load up your great pictures along with a detailed item description to make it clear about the item your customers are bidding on. Your success as an eBay seller is in the effort that you put into it.

As a new seller on Ebay the easiest and most preferred method of payment is through PayPal. If you are planning to do a lot of Ebaying you will want to set up an account on there. Setting up a PayPal account is both quick and easy. All you need to do is go to www.paypal.com and select the “Getting started” option. This section will give you answers to the most basic questions for signing up regarding verification and what it means, countries that PayPal is accepted in, the required information for opening a PayPal account, time zone, their security features and more.

On the left hand side of the page under “Getting started” you will see additional categories that will give you all of the details on fees, account types, sending and receiving money through PayPal, and PayPal’s usage policy on what is acceptable and what is not. Continuing on down the left hand side of the page are other categories as well that will completely outline and answer many other questions pertaining to bank cards, credit cards, account viewing, resolving account issues, filing disputes and claims, PayPal with Ebay linking, products, features, and merchant services.

There are three types of accounts to get you going on PayPal. For beginners, a personal account is fine and best of all, FREE! Once you plan to make this a business you will want to upgrade to a premier or even a business account. The fee is reasonable for either of these accounts and will not empty your wallet. Seller’s fees for all accounts are also a bargain and well worth it for fast and ready payment and convenience purposes. PayPal even has its own special section for its Ebay users.

PayPal a secure and safe method of payment and their customer service is top notch. They are readily available by e-mail or telephone whenever you need them. Sign up for a PayPal account today and begin selling your items on your Ebay auction account. The fastest, easiest, payment choice on the internet is hands down, Paypal!

Think back to your childhood. Do you remember your first business adventure of setting up your own lemonade stand? You would sell cups of lemonade for only cents, and life was good. Life was good up until that kid set up another lemonade stand right across the street from yours and stole your thunder, right? Unfortunately, that kid is back on the block. However, in this situation, the block is located on eBay. In order to prevent these types of kids from earning all the sales, you need to learn how to compete effectively.

Remember selling your lemonade for twenty five cents, only to realize that the other stand sold their lemonade for ten cents? Competitive prices can make all the difference in selling merchandise. Depending on what you are selling, you should search eBay for the same or similar products. Determine the average price for your product, among fellow eBay sellers. You will want to price your product in this bracket, or slightly below if you do not have much money invested in the item you are planning to sell.

Furthermore, the attractive signs advertising for the other lemonade stands really caught the attention of people. The same method works on eBay. Advertising for your eBay store or items is important. Make your existence known on eBay. This will result in an increase of traffic to your eBay store, which increases your chances of gaining sales. Advertise on the internet, such as social networking websites. You can also promote your eBay items or store in your community or through word of mouth. Advertise and promote your eBay store as much as possible through numerous methods.

Another way to direct prospective buyers to your eBay items is to list keywords for each item throughout the listing and the description. These keywords allow your item to be shown when a buyer searches that term on eBay. Make sure your keywords are relevant to your item and utilize the full amount allotted by eBay.

So when selling items on eBay, it is important to remember that an online business is still a business and requires good customer service. Good customer service is the reason all of those power sellers became power sellers. They’ve acquired their positive feedback for several reasons. Among these reasons may be things like prices, fast shipping, reliability, quick to answer questions and concerns, or the diversity of products they sell. Accumulating positive feedback is always a positive gain for your eBay business.

Running a home based business can be such a great thing, but there are too many people who have this misconception that it is all candy and roses without any real pitfalls. The truth is that there are pitfalls and those pitfalls can make or break you if you’re not aware of what they are and how to stop them when they occur.

So here are some pitfalls that you may run into and the ways in which you can avoid them:

• Many individuals working at home find that the world believes they have it made. This means friends and family may not respect work time. It seems as if all of a sudden the world demands your attention even more because you work at home. So lay down the law to begin with. Tell them who the boss is (because you are) and explain that you cannot make a living if they don’t respect the times you have set aside.

• Battling distractions is like literally fighting a war. Actually, it is a war within yourself. This means not putting a stereo system or a TV in your office. You might think you have enough time to watch that movie and get your work done, but you might be quite surprised that these little things can really eat into your day. The next thing you know, you’ve been sitting in your office for 12 hours, feeling like you’ve accomplished very little.

• When you are working, it can be hard to know when to stop. Many individuals keep going and going so that they can get their work done. But what this does is take away that family time, causes you to become overworked, and may even make you lose your mind a little.

Don’t get too confident about what you are doing. Being self-employed means a lot of uncertainty. Don’t think you have the perfect business formula that is going to keep the revenue coming in consistently. You must strive to keep growing your business so that you can keep that income coming in. Some months are more profitable than others, so be careful with your money.

So take these things into consideration so that you don’t tank your business as soon as you get it started. Make sure you evaluate all the distractions a home business faces and proceed with caution, after all, you livelihood depends on it!

You would be quite surprised how many people are using eBay as a way to make a second income. They simply take a lot of items and they auction them off. If you’ve ever heard the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” eBay is the perfect example of this for the fact that some of the items that are sold are items that some people would think no one wanted. But the truth is that people want virtually anything.

But you can only sell so much, right?

That is true. You can only sell so many items out of your home. Eventually, you may run out of items to sell. But that doesn’t have to be the end of the road for you. You don’t have to say goodbye to your eBay selling career. Here are some ways to really make eBay a second income for you that goes way beyond selling your belongings:

Find some great deals on the Internet. These can be wholesale deals or other such deals and sell these items on eBay for a higher price. But you still have to make sure the item is cheaper than what they could buy in a retail store.

Hit up flea markets, yard sales, and estate sales. Nab up items that are very cheap so that you can list them on eBay for a price higher than what you paid for it. You can almost always count on making your money back on these items.

Go to Liquidation sales and find out which stores in your area are closing. You can get their items for just a few dollars and sell them for more than you paid. That way you can make a profit.

Make sure you set up a website where you can list your items. eBay sellers with websites are eBay sellers who can build quite the reputation.

You can continue doing this over and over. There is always something that someone else wants to get rid of that you can sell on eBay. And if you are really gutsy, you can look through alleys for stuff that people put out to be taken. Some individuals beg for people to take away items. In other words, they invite stealing, although it is technically not stealing.

So go ahead and give eBay a try. Many individuals are making their primary and second incomes by using eBay so you might as well too. Why let something so profitable slip through your fingers?

Many of the readers who come here are looking for wholesale items to resell on eBay. But, did you stop to think that maybe you can find wholesale merchandise right on eBay? No…. I am not crazy, you actually can purchase large quantities of merchandise through eBay and turn around and retail each item one by one. I know of several successful eBay powers sellers who know how to spot a great deal on eBay and then “flip it” one item at a time right back on eBay!

Some of the more popular items which can easily be flipped on eBay include:

Large lots of apparel – Look for gently used or shelf pull apparel. Shelf pull apparel is simply clothing that was unsold in the original department store for various reasons. Often, this shelf pull apparel will have the original retail tags attached…a real bonus for selling on ebay. You can find gently used clothing lots on ebay that will offer a great source for “single” sales. Look for wholesale lots containing high end name brands. There are a few categories of clothing that sell very well on eBay including maternity, children clothing and plus sizes.

Jewelry lots – You can find great deals on bulk jewelry lots on eBay. There several manufacturers who are selling rings, necklaces, bracelets and body jewelry which can be purchased and resold on eBay. They key to reselling jewelry on eBay is producing quality digital photos for your auctions.

There are hundreds of other bulk lots which can be purchased and resold, they trick is to spend enough time on eBay searching. In addition you want to make sure that when you bid on a lot of merchandise that you factor your shipping cost into you cost per piece. For example, if you buy a 100 pieces of used apparel for $49 and shipping to your doors costs $30, your landed cost per piece is .79 each!

We should take this time to also let you know that once you become an eBay Power Seller you will have access to the Resellers Marketplace – An exclusive “members only” marketplace for those who qualify as an eBay Power Seller.  As a Power seller you will gain access to excess inventory  directly from many manufacturers, liquidators, and wholesalers.