eBay PowerSeller Nick Sevino (a pseudonym) answers questions about buying and selling on eBay.

Hi Nick, How can a person become a powerseller? I have purchased all the info on e-bay and most is useless information. What is a popular item to sell and where can I buy it at a reasonable cost? Thanks,
Greg

Dear Greg,
Great Question.

Be careful what you wish for. Do you really want to work 60 hour weeks? Compete in the world's most competitive business arena? Deal with nasty customer wanting immediate service? Get stuck with credit-card chargebacks, etc.? If you are a glutton for punishment, then yes, you can become a PowerSeller.

You must be willing to work harder and longer, hone your negotiation skills, study, and get your ducks in a row. Until you are doing well enough to delegate, you are going to be wearing many hats and doing the work of 3 to 4 people. You are purchaser, marketer, salesman, accountant, shipper, IT guy and customer service rep. Working smart and automation helps, but to succeed, you are going to have to apply a certain amount of brute force (long hours).

At a minimum level of $1,000 in sales per month, it's not that hard to become a PowerSeller - you have to sell $34 worth of goods a day. If you don't care about profit, it's easy. The higher levels become more difficult.

You also have to have a minimum of 100 feedback points, and keep a 98% positive feedback ratio. Here's the PowerSeller Welcome page on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/welcome.html, and here is a page of FAQs: http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/faq.html.

We've addressed in a previous article some of the places to go for goods (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y203/m09/abu0102/s02). You are right when you said the first step is to find a line of goods that you can sell profitably on eBay. This is quite tough. The market is so competitive, many categories have been driven into the tubes. Usually used goods are the best opportunity unless you have a special relationship with a manufacturer.

Nick Tip: My Daddy, born into a long line of businessmen, always used to say "Stay with what you know." It's always best if you sell an item that you know about. Selling something else can have a steep learning curve, and it is easy to get your clock cleaned.

The second step is to run your eBay business like any other business. You have to have a plan. Examine your company and ask this question: Why would someone buy from me, what am I here for?

Nick Tip: Don't ever ever go into business unless you have a competitive edge: a reason why people will purchase from you instead of the competition, something that makes you better. The edge can be source of supply, it can be superior marketing, superior knowledge, superior sales ability. Commitment to providing low price, or commitment to providing high service.

The third step is dedication and hard work. You have to make a commitment to working at eBay. Yes, some people are plain lucky. They get a contract of a source of supply for a hot item at a super aggressive price and don't have to work at it. But the reality is that most PowerSellers are working 60+ hours/week. They keep up with the changes in the market, are constantly figuring out better ways to get a higher listing yield. Many are perusing the Forums and doing analyses of different products. That doesn't count answering all of the customer letters. This column is being written at midnight because this week has been so busy.

You mentioned purchasing information. If you really worked at it, you could find a good contact. This takes purchasing ability and marketing savvy. Trade shows can be a good source of contacts. The CES show in Las Vegas is coming up; this might be an opportunity to find new vendors and meet them face to face. Find trade shows in your industry. (Check with the industry association, you can find a list of associations on Yahoo: http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Organizations/Trade_Associations.)

Learn as much as you can - knowledge is power. As a beginner, you could be spending your nights perusing the community message boards where you'll find many good tips. Also examine what the other sellers are selling.

If making a ton of money on eBay was easy, then everyone would be doing it, but it's not. Stop trying to look for get-rich schemes. Try to grow a long-term business based on a business plan.

To comment on this letter, post a message in the forums.

If you have a question you'd like Nick to consider for a future issue of "Dear Nick," send it to nick@auctionbytes.com.