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"In one month you could be making $1,000 a day from your home in only 5 minutes a day while sitting in your underwear! Send $39.95 for my secrets."
Your email inbox is probably full of claims like these. Well, I am about to reveal the secret and save you $39.95: The plan calls for you to spam a million people in the hopes that some of them fall for it and send you the money!
Just remember: TANSTAAFL - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. If there was really some secret to legitimately making $1,000 a day in only 5 minutes, no one would be selling it for $39.95. What I can tell you is that you can make money online through hard work and using your brain.
Before you launch any business venture, you have to be realistic. Do not quit your day job expecting to make a fortune selling on eBay. Unless you have a truly unique item that only you can get at a special price, you will be facing competition from folks who have been around longer than you and have already established the ratings and reputation to get the highest bids. Does that mean you should give up? Absolutely not. It just means you have to carefully think about how to proceed. While older businesses may have the advantage of a proven track record and clientele, newer businesses have the advantage of a fresh approach and are not hampered by outdated procedures or inventory purchased at higher prices.
In this series of articles, I will demonstrate some of the tricks that I learned which helped me build the Internet side of my business into a steady income producer. I am not going to claim that you will become rich. The Internet side of my business brings in about $200 a week. I am not going to claim that it takes only five minutes a day. It takes me a few hours, but that is only because I enjoy exchanging emails with people all over the globe. If you are a "strictly business" sort of person, you can probably do it in an hour or two a day.
What I will do is give you a "money back guarantee." If you don't like my ideas, you can request a full refund of every cent you paid me to read this article. Even better, I'll give you DOUBLE your money back.
Rule #1: Choose Your Niche
If you visit chat forums on a regular basis (Auctionwatch, OTWA, eBay and the new AuctionBytes forums) you will see these kinds of posts regularly: "Does anyone have a good source of wholesale stuff? Does anyone know a good drop-shipper? I want to start selling on eBay."
Asking others what they sell and who they get it from so that you can sell exactly the same thing the same way is not the way to get noticed. And, it is difficult to compete on price. The bigger sellers who sell in larger quantities probably get better pricing.
So what can you do as a "Johnny-come-lately" to get positive attention? Compete by offering something the bigger sellers can't afford to give: service. The key to giving great service and customized attention: Love what you sell!
You can spot the sellers who have a passion for their products. They enjoy answering questions. They take the time to make sure that their customers know exactly what they are getting. To them, a customer is more than just another bid and another few dollars. And it shows in their feedback. I would venture to guess that successful sellers did not first decide to sell and then start looking for merchandise. Most successful sellers on eBay first had a passion and then became sellers.
I sell digital cameras and related accessories. So do a thousand other seller. What differentiates me from all of the others? I enjoy learning about this new technology, and I enjoy sharing the knowledge. When a customer places an order for a 128mb SmartMedia card, I ask them what kind of camera they have and then tell them if it will only accept a maximum of 64mb. When a customer places an order for an expensive Fuji battery and charger, I am able to tell them that the identical items are available under another label for half the price. When I get the same questions over and over, I create a Web page that answers those questions and place it on my site. Eventually people find my site a good source of information and start spreading the word. Soon I get lots of hits and lots of direct sales. Direct sales mean instant sales, without the delay of auctions or listing and final value fees.
So don't start by looking to see where you can find "stuff." Begin by looking at what product you have a passion for. Do you collect stamps, coins or baseball cards? Enjoy photography? Love old movies? Can you spot a good deal on an antique at an estate sale? Then this is where you should start. You should be excited about your product and enjoy talking about it so you can address your customers' questions without getting irritated. It will allow you to become an authority in your field. It may help you spot that special deal, the item selling for $5 at an estate sale that can fetch hundreds of dollars on eBay with the proper presentation.
So stop thinking about selling "stuff" and think about having fun while you enjoy your hobby and build your business.
Next Issue: Selling on eBay & Developing a Web Site
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