Getting Started on eBay

You’ve probably heard about how much money can 
be made on eBay. With dreams of quick riches and 
easy money, you are probably ready to jump in with 
both feet – right now! The best thing you can do if 
you are serious about making money with eBay, 
however, is to slow down. In fact, just stop for a 
minute. Don’t rush straight in. Take your time, and 
do it right.

eBay has over 100 million members. Think about 
that number for just a minute or two. When you get 
your eBay business set up, that is how big your 
customer base will be – instantly. 100 million people 
- 100 million people who are just waiting for you to 
get set up and running so that they can throw money 
at you! Well, not quite. It is true that there are over 
100 million members, but at this point, they don’t 
know that you exist. In fact, no matter how well you 
do on eBay, most of them will never know that you 
exist. 100 million is a very large number.

The most successful eBay sellers started out as 
buyers – and you should too. This will give you a 
sense of how everything works. It will also show you 
how things are from the buyer’s side of the fence. 
Let’s call this period of time ‘consumer research.’ 
You are literally studying how eBay works, from a 
customer’s point of view. You may not realize this, 
but this eBay buyer experience will 
actually make you a much better seller – right from 
the very start.  

Really pay attention to the customer service you 
receive from the buyer. Think about how you want to 
be treated as a buyer, and take notes. Take your 
time during this process. Interact with the sellers. 
Get involved in hot auctions to see what they are 
like. In your spare time, start making notes about 
the hot items that you see. These notes will come 
in handy later.

eBay works just like any other business. You have 
to determine what people want to buy before you can 
hope to be successful. There are very specific items 
that sell really well on eBay – you just have to figure 
out what those items are. There are many 
resources for finding out this information. Start with 
the lessons that eBay offers to their sellers. 
Strongly consider attending the eBay University as 
well. This is the next step in the process. After you 
have had the eBay buyer experience, it is time to 
learn how to be an eBay seller. 

Read all of the information eBay provides for you at 
the site. The information is free and you will learn a 
great deal from it. Take full advantage of this – before 
you start setting up your first auction or your eBay 
store! By reading through all of the resources, you 
will avoid making numerous mistakes that so many 
before you have made. This is another step towards 
building a successful eBay business. Once you’ve 
made it through the learning process, you should 
know everything you need to know to get started 
with a money making eBay business of your very 
own.

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