Some people have decent eBay businesses pulling in good weekly profits and they aren’t interested in making more money. This information is not for those people. For everyone else who wants to grow their eBay business bigger and much more profitable, here are some simple things you can put into action immediately that will fatten your wallet and increase profit margins.

1) Building a list of past customers. If they purchased from you in the past there’s a good chance they will buy from you again. Send them emails of special offers, new inventory, or rare items in stock. All you need to do is get their emails out of PayPal and into an autoresponder.

2) eBay’s Publisher Network. eBay will send you money if someone buys an item on eBay after clicking through your link. Use this with tip #1 and you can really see some great results.

3) Checking your pricing. You should stay on top of your pricing once a week or so and adjust your prices to compete the changing marketplace. Many businesses will take a cut on their margins to turn over inventory quicker and increase cash flow.

4) Clearing out old inventory. Sometimes I hold on to inventory for too long by not budging on my profit margins or lowering pricing. This inventory takes up shelf space, ties up capital, and hinders cash flow. Get it out, get your cash back, and get some new stock.

5) Watching your pennies. With a few simple tricks we have reduced our listing fees by 60-80% because of eBay’s new policies. We can get the same amount of sales by putting many items in one listing and optimizing that listing for ‘Best Match’. We also have found that using 30 day or good till canceled listing durations help in lowering fees. With just those few changes we have lowered our eBay fee invoices from over $1500 to under $300.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

You’ve worked for a company for many years. Now, you can enjoy your retirement. Have you found it difficult to go from being busy to not working? Do you have a collection of antiques that you’ve collected over the years? Or, maybe you have a hobby that you enjoy. Maybe you’ve heard about people who take their hobbies and their antiques and put them on eBay. Have you ever wondered if you could do this too?

The answer is yes. The eBay website is a great platform for you to take your antiques, your hobby, or whatever you want and put it online. You can sell virtually anything on eBay… and you’ve probably heard the news stores about the crazy items that look like famous figures. Yet regardless of the ‘quirkiness’ of eBay, it remains a trading platform that allows anyone to sell to millions of customers worldwide.

If you’re retired, eBay can be a great business for you. Why? Because you can do it at your own pace and from your own home. You set the terms… you decide what to sell. You can decide how much money you want to make and decide how much time you want to spend. You don’t have to spend an entire day in front of the computer if you don’t want to.

Another idea is to work on your eBay business with your family members. Do you have some grandchildren looking to start making some extra money? Why not help them get started by letting them sell your stuff on eBay?

Are you worried you won’t have the technical skills or tools to sell on eBay? Well, with eBay, as long as you have a computer, a digital camera, a bit of time, and a desire to learn, you should have no problem selling on eBay. Yes, there are things you’ll need to know how to do like upload pictures from your digital camera to your computer. You’ll need to know how to use the eBay website.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced eBay seller. All levels of experience must follow three basic product sourcing models to sell on eBay.

First, you could sell for other people as an eBay Trading Assistant. An eBay Trading Assistant is someone who sells products on behalf of other people in the community. You earn a commission on the products you sell, and if people know that you’ll sell their stuff on eBay, there will be no end of products for you.

Second, you can sell many one of a kind or unique items. For example, maybe you specialize in selling antiques. Every item is unique, and every item needs new pictures and descriptions. If you choose this product sourcing model, there are a few benefits. One of these benefits is that you’ll hopefully get to sell to a group of people who can’t wait to see what you’ll list next. You can really build a following of people naturally and easily. For example, let’s say you sold Native American hand-carved figurines. If you had a following of people who collected these, they would be waiting on the edge of their seats to see what you’ll list next. There’s excitement and anticipation there.

One of the main disadvantages of selling unique items is the fact that it is more time consuming than selling items in bulk. For example, if every item is one-of-a-kind, then there’s no way you can buy a bulk load with multiple quantities. You’ll have to make individual listings for every item, and thus become more efficient at making those listings. Don’t get bogged down if you choose this method. Streamline what you do, so you can effectively juggle time between finding products and selling them on eBay.

Last, let’s consider the third model, which is to buy inventory in bulk. This is the model that many eBay powersellers have found to work the best. Why? Well the main benefit is that you save a lot of time and energy in creating the listings. You only need to take the pictures and write the description once, even if you have hundreds or thousands of the same item for sale. You’ll save a ton of time over creating listings for unique items. The great thing is that once you’ve made the listing, then you’re done! You put the energy in once and get paid multiple times. One disadvantage of this method is that you might have to compete against other sellers who have recognized this too. Items that sell well tend to have a bit of competition. That’s why learning the skills to sell on eBay are vital. But once you’ve learned, you’ll be making money on eBay in no time.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, make sure you check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

When new people are coming to eBay, often they focus on how to make a listing and understanding how eBay works. However one very important topic that many people miss is how to take good pictures. You could have a perfect description of your item, but if you have a bad picture, then your item likely won’t sell. If your item does sell, it will be for much less than you could have sold it for if you had a good picture.

While descriptions are important, they work along with taking good pictures. If you do not have good pictures, your buyers will not be able to tell if you’re telling the truth about your item. Not only do the pictures show the condition of your item, but they give an impression of what the item is to your buyer. A picture can also be used to show the size of an item. Although you can write the dimensions in the description, it’s easier for your buyer to see a size comparison and a pitcher. For example, smaller items can be placed next to a ruler. Larger items can be put next to other larger objects in order to show a comparison of size.

If you want to have a very successful eBay business, you should know how to take great pictures. If you don’t include pictures in your auctions, you might as well consider your listing fees wasted. There is nothing more important than having a good picture, because it shows what your buyer is actually getting. It shows what your item looks like, its condition, and its size. It also helps your buyer to trust you, because they know that you are putting the extra time and effort into your auction to take great pictures.

As you grow your eBay business, you might want to consider buying a high quality digital camera. You also might want to invest in a photo editing program such as Photoshop. Photo editing programs help you stand out from the crowd because they can make your pictures appear like they were taken by a professional.

Here’s a closing tip on taking pictures. When you do take pictures, make sure that you take them from as many angles as you can. The more pictures you can provide your customers, the more they will be able to trust you. This will have a direct impact on your sales.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, make sure you check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

Whether you’re just getting started or have been on eBay for a while, a common question that comes up is where to find more products. If you were a regular “brick and mortar” retailer, then you’d have to develop relationships with local wholesalers and distributors for the products that you carry. The same applies for eBay businesses.

Online sellers always wonder if the distributors and wholesalers will sell to them. The answer to that question is… it depends. Some wholesalers will sell to eBayers, some won’t. Every wholesaler is different.

So how do you start finding wholesalers? Well let me tell you where not to look. Don’t do a regular internet search for them, because most of the websites that you’ll find are false. Don’t believe the hype, no matter how appealing they look to eBay sellers. You might think you won the lottery if you believed all their promises. Sorry, but it’s not true.

Why is that? Well the fact is that most websites you’ll find online aren’t wholesaler approved. That’s because wholesalers and distributors usually don’t need to advertise or go looking for retailers, because the retailers come to them. These websites are instead made by “evil” middlemen who buy the products cheap and then resell them to you at high prices. Usually the mark-up is much too great to be useful to you.

So what do we do now? Well first you need to realize that the web isn’t the best source for you to Wholesalers aren’t on the edge of internet technology. They do business mainly by telephone because it’s worked for them for decades. In my experience, the best wholesalers that we’ve found don’t have websites, or they have websites that are difficult to use or find. So how do you find wholesalers if you can’t search on the web? The best way is to go to the top. In this case, it’s the manufacturer. Call the manufacturer by looking through the product documentation or warranty card.

Keep in mind that the wholesaler is designed to help the manufacturer. The manufacturer can focus on making the product, the wholesaler can work on getting the product to retailers. All you need to do as a retailer is to ask the manufacturer who their wholesalers are.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

Back when I was in high school, I had a summer job corn detasseling. (In case you didn’t know, detasseling is going out into the fields and taking the tassel out of a corn stock to create seed corn.) I would wake up at the crack of dawn, eat something for breakfast, and then head out to the pick-up stop, where a bus would take me, a buddy of mine, and a few other workers out to the corn field. Now if you’ve never been in a corn field early in the morning, let me tell you, it’s not the best place to be. The corn is wet from the morning dew, and of course, there are plenty of insects hopping from corn stalk to corn stalk. Grasshoppers were the most common. Getting into the field was always the hardest, because I’d go from being somewhat warm and dry to being cold and wet and covered with bugs.

After working for up to 10 hours in the fields, I would get home and basically collapse exhausted until we started it all over again.

Maybe you’re asking, “what does this have to do with selling on eBay?” Well the answer is that many people who want to start selling online expect everything to be easy. While I do believe that eBay is the quickest and easiest way to make money online, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be challenged by it. That’s why I started off by telling my story about corn detasseling. Yes it was hard work, and the first time I did it, I didn’t know what was happening. It was a slow process to learn. It was hard. Even when I did know what to do, it wasn’t easy to get going in the morning.

Yet as I continued to work in the fields, the hard work began to be a little bit easier. In fact, I started to enjoy it. Yes the fields were still wet and full of bugs in the morning, but that was all part of it. I knew that I was doing a better job, and making more money as a result. I kept going even though it was hard to start. I stepped outside my comfort zone and found that it got easier.

Remember what it was like to pushed or worked harder than you’ve ever had before. Maybe you tried something new for the first time. Maybe you competed in a sporting event. Remember what that feels like. Now, take that same feeling of being “in the zone” and apply that to opening up an eBay business. Of course you’ll have challenges along the way, as with any business. But in the long run, with the right attitude, starting an eBay business is one of the easier ways to get started.

You won’t have to go corn detassling like I did, fighting cold and wet fields. You won’t have to fight the heat of the day on a hot summer afternoon. All you’ll have to do is take the few steps that are necessary. Maybe the hardest thing you’ll have to to is to package something up and take it to the post office.

The bottom line? Stop making excuses. Don’t let anything hold you back. Work hard, and you’ll see almost instant success with eBay.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

When you are just getting started on your online business, you will need to set some short, intermediate, and long-term goals. A well thought-out properly organized set of goals is your road map to success. If you are going to try to make it big online, not having clear written goals will be the biggest mistake you will EVER make.

Here are some tips for setting goals. First, your goals should be challenging. They should stretch you and take you just outside your comfort zone. At the same time, they should be realistic. Your goals should inspire you and give you the drive to achieve what you can’t see right now. People with clear written goals in front of them at all times accomplish many times more than someone without any goals. One way to remember the proper characteristics of goals is by using the acronym SMART. Goals should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Having specific goals means defining them exactly and clearly. An example of a vague goal would be, I want to get rich selling on eBay. An example of a specific goal would be, I want to make an extra $3000 passive income a month by selling on eBay. In the specifying of the goal you are giving it clear characteristics allowing it to be better understood in your mind.

Measurable. Having measurements on your goals give them a real numerical value. In the previous example, what made the goal more specific was the measurable dollar figure. Checking your goals, updating them, and measuring where you are in your journey in achieving them will help you keep going in your online business.

Attainable. While your goals should be attainable, they should also not be too easy. Your goals should be inspiring and push you out of your comfort zone. Goals must be possible, but inspire you and give you a drive and purpose.

Timely. Your goals must have a time limit to them. Set a date and time to your goals. A goal without a date is just a wish. And if you forget when you want to achieve your goal, then you’re going to miss the goal. However, once you have developed thoughtful short, intermediate, and long-term goals, set deadlines on your short-term goals. Create action steps from your goals. Prioritize the details of your short-term goals, but do not begin working on them until you are fully committed!

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, you need to check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

By far the most popular question I hear from entrepreneurs stating to sell on eBay is “what do I sell?” That is a question that if you can properly answer, you’ll have success on eBay. What’s my answer? I’ll tell you in a minute. First, I need to explain why it’s so easy to get stuck here. (Don’t worry, I’ve been there too.)

The main reason why this is such a roadblock is because eBay is a product-centered business. You need to have something to sell or you won’t be in business. You need to buy product at low cost and sell higher. It’s a simple model, and you’re probably saying “yeah, I know that.” Listen for just a minute.

The same type of people who get stuck figuring out which product to buy are the same type of people who would get stuck figuring out which stock to buy in the stock market. It’s basically the same model, right? Buy a stock low, sell it higher than what you bought it for. Buy inventory low, sell it higher than what you bought it for.

Let’s think about what makes a really successful stock trader. Successful stock traders know which stocks are going to go up. They look at what the market is doing right now. They’ll look at the current stock price and then make the decision.

A good stock trader will be someone who doesn’t just focus on one stock. Instead, they focus on the principles of how to buy a good stock. They look for the winning qualities. They then filter through the many options to find those winners. Well it works the same way with finding products to sell on eBay. You need to educate yourself. You need to figure out what the market is doing. Then you need to be able to make the call when the situation demands it.

What’s the key ingredient to find products? By far, it’s having the mindset. You need the training to see the opportunities. Once you can recognize opportunities, you’ll be prepared for them when they arrive. There are literally countless products all around you that you can sell. You just can’t see them yet. The main thing you need to do is to get yourself in that “seller’s mindset” so you can.

Maybe you still don’t know what to sell on eBay yet.

If you’re brand new to eBay, my recommendation is that you begin to sell stuff that you don’t need. There’s probably an area of your house that is too cluttered, whether it’s the attic, a closet, or the basement. Instead of having a yard sale, see if you can sell it on eBay. You’ll build your feedback ratings and be well on your way to becoming a better eBay entrepreneur.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller and Entrepreneur who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, make sure you check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

So you’ve sold a few items on eBay. Congratulations! That alone sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. There are many people who “wish” to sell on eBay full-time but never even get their first listing up.

Maybe you’re starting to wonder, what should I do now? After you’ve sold the extra stuff around your house for a few bucks, where does the real money on eBay come from?

Well, let’s talk business. What makes a successful business? What turns a single small hamburger stand into the multi-million dollar McDonald’s chain? Answer: the money is always in the system. It’s the streamlined and repeatable process that works, every time, all the time. And the best systems work without you having to even be there. Having inventory that automatically lists and gets sold while you sleep is just one great example.

There are some amazing tools to help you create systems, and they free you from sitting in front of the computer all the time. It’s an awesome feeling waking up the next morning and seeing how much more money you got in your account. It’s almost like you get paid to sleep.

Here’s a couple more tips: Buy products that sell. Of course not everyone has the money to buy a truckload of products, but you need to get started and you can get started small. The key here is to do your research beforehand. What is already selling on eBay? Where could I buy it less than the current eBay price? What products are hot? How do I find them? Well…

Keep Your Finger On The Pulse. You can get a snapshot about what’s happening on eBay by visiting http://pulse.ebay.com. This page shows what eBay buyers are looking for in each category, with the top 10 most searched for items, the most watched items and the largest eBay stores in each category. All of this information together helps you spot the latest trends. For example, right now the largest eBay stores are selling books or music. That suggests that these categories have high demand.

The eBay Pulse is a great tool to help you start identifying what is most often searched for on eBay, and what the buyer is looking for. Type those highly searched items in to the search bar and see how much competition there is. Once you find an item that is highly searched for but has a low number of competitors, you know what you should be trying to find to sell.

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for over 3 years. Before you start selling on eBay, you need to check out his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “the devil is in the details” and that’s also true for your eBay business. Whether you’re just getting started in your eBay business or not, there are many details to take care of and many things to worry about. Some beginners worry that one of them might fall through the cracks. There’s researching, buying products, listing items, answering questions, shipping… and the list goes on.

Stressed? Instead of worrying about all of the things that could go wrong, let me tell you exactly how to kill your eBay business. That should make your life easier, right?

1. Don’t Care About Your Titles. Take some random words and put them in your title. Whatever you do, don’t include the brand name. Make it impossible for people to find your product. Better yet, don’t even bother with using up all 55 characters. Forget about spell check. Oh, and make sure you use words that people never type in like “L@@K” and “WOW”

2. Take Really Blurry Pictures, Or None At All. Don’t worry if you can’t tell what it is. Make it a mystery so your customers work to figure out what your item is. And make sure the really important details are obscured or not even in the picture. Or just don’t bother taking a picture at all.

3. Sell Junk. Have no problem listing absolute garbage. Put worthless items up on eBay and hope they sell. Put that flea market special up for $100. Oh and make sure you lie about your item. Put the broken items up on eBay claiming they are top quality. Get some knock-offs and sell them as the real thing. Don’t worry about what your customers think. Let the buyer beware, right?

4. Don’t Care About Your Description. Just say whatever you want. Make up a story. Lie about the item if you feel like it. Say it works when it doesn’t. Say it’s in perfect condition. Don’t tell give any measurements or facts about your item. Use lots of mysterious abbreviations that makes you look like you know what you’re talking about. Give them useless information, talk about your problems. Yell about Nigerian scammers.

5. Don’t Talk To Your Buyers. So you’re getting emails from people who might buy. Big deal. Talking to your customers is a huge waste of time. If your customers are asking questions, they’re probably too dumb to buy the item anyways. Don’t bother with talking to them. Let them figure it out.

6. Make Your Listings Ugly. Make your font bright yellow on white. Use 6-point font. Who cares if you can read the text, anyway? It’s not that important. Add little animations and flashing lights. Give your customer a headache. USE CAPITALS! Add some really obnoxious music that automatically plays.

7. Have Your Auctions End At Strange Hours. Why not have your item end 4am? You’re sure that everyone will stay up all night until the auction ends. They have nothing better to do anyways. Why bother figuring out the best time to end your auction?

Jesse Holmes is an eBay PowerSeller who has been making money on eBay for more than 3 years. Before you start to sell on eBay, don’t miss his excellent free eBay Business Start Up Kit, showing you step by step how to learn to sell on eBay.