eBay 2014: Why You're Not Selling Anything on eBay, and What You Can Do About It
Interview with Nick Vulich Question. Why eBay? There are all sorts of ecommerce sites on the web. Why do so many of your books focus specifically on eBay?Answer. I think eBay offers the best shot for new sellers to gain traction selling online. eBay is easy to get started selling on; it has a built in customer base of over 250 million eager buyers; and you can sell just about anything.Question: That last part is the million dollar question, what are the best things to sell on eBay if you want to make money?Answer: That's the great thing about eBay. It really doesn't matter what you sell. There are so many people on the site, with so many interests, that you can sell just about anything if you package it right.Question: Can you give us a few examples?Answer: Think cell phones, consumer electronics, and video games. eBay has hundreds of sellers moving these same items. The problem is these are almost impossible fields to compete in. You're up against the likes of Best Buy and the other big box giants.Question: So what do you do?Answer: Smart sellers narrow their focus down and serve a niche.     Do you service and sell used cell phones? There's a huge market for refurbished phones on eBay. If you have a ready source of phones, and can restore them to factory settings you're going to do well.     Let me give you another example. My Kindle went crazy last fall and wouldn't charge. None of the computer stores in town wanted to look at it. The one guy I did find who was willing to give it a shot wanted eighty bucks, but he wouldn't guarantee anything. I searched eBay and found a guy who would reset the charger stem (return postage included) for $34.95. When I checked his feedback he was doing a booming business, and he wasn't the only one. Five other sellers were thriving doing the same thing.     In my case, I take old magazines libraries and book stores are begging to get rid and harvest articles and pictures from them that sell for twenty to fifty dollars each. In fourteen years of doing it, I've made over thirty thousand sales.Question: But aren't there too many sellers already? How can the average guy hope to find a new niche that will make them money? Isn't it a little like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack?Answer: Ideas are all around you?     Do you run a local screen print shop? You can do short orders of six, twelve or twenty-five t-shirts and cater to the small business market. Are you an artist? Open up an eBay store and put your masterpieces out there for a larger market to find. Is there a local business in your area that everybody just loves? Test the waters and put a few of their products on eBay.     If you're really at a loss for what to sell, take a drive around town; open up the phone book; follow your kids around for a day and listen to what gets them excited.Question: Earlier you mentioned you can sell anything if you package it right. What did you mean by that?Answer: You've got to be creative in your listings. That means crafting awesome titles loaded with keywords; your pictures need to showcase what you're selling and make people want to buy it; you're item description needs to make customers drool for more.     I keep thinking back to a designer I use on Fiverr. She describes her book covers as being so realistic customers will want to reach out and lick them. Are auction listing so enticing customers will want to lick them. If not, you probably want to go back to the drawing board.Final Question: What's the best way to get started?Answer:  Dive in head first. So many people talk about what they want to do. They put all of these obstacles in their way. I'll do it when I can spare a thousand dollars. I'll start when I'm on vacation next summer and have the time to do it right. I need to get more information before I get started.    Listen to me. That's all a bunch of horse-hockey we tell ourselves to keep from trying. The best way to start doing something is to do it. Make a few mistakes. Who cares?     Read my books. Learn how to sell on eBay. Whatever you do, don't over think it. It's not rocket science.     What's the worst you can do? Loose a few bucks. Maybe make a few extra bucks. You'll never know until you give it a shot.