Ecommerce Beginings--Tap into your $5000 in Free Inventory

Did you know that most sellers on ebay start out without any investment? They don't rent a building, they don't hire any employees, they don't hire an attorney and they don't buy any inventory.

Every serious seller I have met and read about started out by selling things they already own--the castoff items that are gathering dust right in their own homes.

This is one of the most awesome things about Ebay--it costs almost nothing to begin.

The average household has $3,000-$5,000 of salable inventory around the house. Start looking around. Clean out the cupboards, the garage, the bedrooms and the closets. The stuff you spy that you know is on its way out--to the garbage or the goodwill--is your first inventory.

Until you get more experience, look at every item as a possibility. Dismiss nothing until you do research. Belive me, you will be surprised at what the Ebay market can bring. Don't think that anything is too ugly, too old or too useless for ebay. You will be amazed (I still am) at what people will buy. Even broken electronics have a market on Ebay--people with the skills to repair them often buy them to repair or for parts. I recently sold a broken digital camera for $20. Remember, don't discriminate! Old, used toys also have a great market on ebay--I sold a lot of mismatched old Lincoln Logs on Ebay for $70 this past December. Keep your large bulky items in mind for Craig's list. I have sold every single thing I've ever listed on Craig's List.

Researching the market is a big part of the learning process. At this stage of the game it is best to research as many different things around your house as you can. When you start to find "winners" or items with a market it may lead you to other items in your house you hadn't thought about. You need to go through this exersize to start learning the value of a variety of things. You will eventually get an eye for what will sell and what won't.

Even after a year of selling full time on these two sites, I still list items that I am skeptical about. There are still surprises with these items. Just today a children's book sold on Ebay for $5 that I had originally sent to our Goodwill box. That covers my starbucks expense for tomorrow!

This is your "free" inventory--there is no cost, except your time, to this inventory. It is the easiest kind of inventory. You will learn a lot from these items.

Enjoy the search. Some of my best finds around my house in 2009:

1.) Used double oven (older but working) sold on Craig's List for $250.
2.) Rusty wagon sold on Craig's List for $35
3.) Used and broken digital camera sold on Ebay for $20
4.) Lot of gently used maternity clothes sold on Ebay for $165
5.) Used American Eagle Jeans sold on Ebay for $20
6.) New but unused software sold for $20
7.) Books and CD's--we have sold approximately $900 worth of books and CD's we were no longer using this year on Ebay.
8.) Lot of gently used American Eagle Sweatshirts sold on Ebay for $20
9.) Miche Bag with three covers, gently used, sold on Ebay for $85
10.) Wooden children's puzzle sold on Ebay for $8.00

No one of these items was particular amazing, but overall these items really added up. By selling items from around your house you start to learn how unique and large the Ebay market is. You also start to learn the intricacies of listing, selling, shipping and dealing with your only Ebay boss--your customers. You start making some money that you can use to grow your business later on.

After salvaging as much as possible--group the items and start to do research. It makes the most sense to do your research all at once, or at least to research several items at a time. Use the "advanced search" option on Ebay and check the completed listings. This will tell you if your item has sold in the previous 90 days. You can also check current listings. Some of your items may not match exactly to what has sold on Ebay, but you can use these previous sales to get a feeling for how an item might do.

Keep in mind that grouping like items often adds value. If you have several pieces of clothing in a similar size, it often makes sense to sell the clothing in a lot. Grouping is a great idea for items in many different catagories; a person may not be interested in just a fishbowl, but add some acquarium plants and a bottle of fish food and you have an attractive listing. Keep this idea in mind for all like items--one Danielle Steele book is ususally worth $1, but a lot of 20 books might sell for $15.

You will have to be creative with guessing value, but you can usually get an idea using the Ebay "completed listings" tool. Use sticky notes to note prices and then regroup your items into two piles, a donation pile and a listing pile.

I recommend considering anything that is awkward or heavy to ship for Craig's List. You will not have the benifit of research but it costs nothing to list or sell here. I have sold every single item I've ever listed on Craig's list.

Overall--enjoy yourself. As you go through this research you will tap into a vatiety of catagories and markets within Ebay. You will begin seeing different things and sensing the value of them. You will begin thinking like an ecommerce entrepreneur. Tap into your $5000 in absolutely free inventory and have fun!

My First Year on Ebay...

I have been selling on Ebay for almost one year exactly. I went from a very occassional buyer and seller to a Silver Level Powerseller (sales beween $5,000 and $10,000 a month) during that year. It has been an incredible year of learning--about ebay and about myself. Selling on Ebay has been very profitable for me and I invite anyone who is interested in learning more to benifit from what I already know.

My first year on Ebay is the very begining of an exciting journey. I fully expect to become a bigger and more profitable seller in the future months. I am just touching the edge of this incredible ecommerce frontier. Trust me--and discover for yourself--the ecommerce world is an exciting and profitable place to be.

This purpose of this blog is to share my experience as I grow and to help others who hope to profit from Ebay and Ecommerce selling. Keep checking back as this blog (and this seller) develop!