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5 Top Methods For Making Money On eBay

Just Five Of The Many Ways to Succeed On EBay

Mary Townsend

March 06, 2009

It’s estimated that 95% of sellers on eBay don’t know what they are doing. These potential sellers hear that they can make money with online auctions and jump right in! Sadly, their lack of knowledge produces a catalogue of errors, all of which could have been avoided if only they had the right information to guide them. When they fail they usually give up, believing that they have been misled. This is very sad for them, but good news for the few that have made the effort to study the simple methods needed to succeed.

The value in taking time to learn the basic techniques of selling on eBay, research hot products, compare prices and locate the tools available to do so quickly and accurately cannot be emphasised enough! With that in mind, here are 5 top methods for making money on eBay:

1. Hobbying - Here’s a way to top up your income. For example, there is a woman on eBay that has taken advantage of the fact that her hobby of scrapbooking has become a hot topic. She has recorded her ideas onto a DVD and charges around $25 for a copy. She’s earning about $150 per week. She only had to make the one master DVD. As new customers place orders, she makes copies and sends them out. Of course she could make this into a much bigger business but she’s happy with the extra income she’s making and her customers are delighted with her product. 

2. Drop-shipping - a very practical way to start your eBay business. Drop-shipping allows you to list an item as new and have it shipped directly from the wholesaler to the highest bidder. Your profit is the difference between the winning bid and the wholesale price, minus any selling and merchant fees from eBay. This way you don’t have to hold any stock. You must, of course follow eBay’s policy on pre-sale items.

3. Consignment Business - There are some people in business who do not sell online themselves but would be happy to pay you a commission to do it for them. The consignor brings you the merchandise, you photograph the items, write the descriptions, list and sell the products and collect the money. Then you write out a cheque to the consignor for the amount, less your commission and any applicable fees.

4. Arbitrage - eBay arbitrage takes advantage of items that are not selling because they have been poorly listed, as mentioned at the beginning of this article. You locate the items, buy them at a low cost then sell them correctly to make your profit. There are a number of tools available to help you locate items in one marketplace and compare the average price elsewhere, so you know where to sell to make the best profit.

5. Self products or services - Information products, in digital or hardcopy formats, are massive on eBay. If you have a passion, hobby or specialist knowledge, you could create your own eBooks, DVDs and manuals. If you don’t have a product of your own, you could buy resell rights. There are also some individuals doing quite well selling their services. For instance, if you are a graphic designer you may be able to offer logo or banner design services.

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