Develop An eBay Business Plan - Tips To Succeed! - By E. Thomas

It's no secret that there are many businesses that fail right from the get-go! In fact, more businesses fail within the first year of operation than actually make it. So why wouldn't you do everything in your power to make sure that your business succeeds? Whether it's a "brick and mortar" store, or an online business that you run from home on eBay...having a plan of action is essential! Here are a few tips to help you develop an eBay business plan.

Research

First and foremost, you need to do your research! Too many people just dive head first into a business that they "think" will be successful. Then, reality hits them and they aren't making the kind of money that they anticipated. This is due to the lack of research within their specific industry.

It's no different with eBay. In order to properly come up with an eBay business plan, you have to do your homework. eBay has some great tools to help their sellers become successful, but many don't ever utilize them. eBay University and the eBay tutorials are two great examples. People that use these resources to their advantage will become more successful sellers.

Also, here's a little hint to help you identify a hot market on eBay. When you become a member, go to the "What's Hot" section of eBay. There, you can see what the popular items are...and best of all, it's broken down by industry! One of the first steps of your eBay business plan should be to register and check out the research/learning tools...and then see "What's Hot"! Now, on to the next most important part of your eBay business plan...

Organize Your Research

Ok, so you've done a little homework and now you're ready to move on. Make sure that you organize all of your research, finding and ideas. Put them on paper! The reason why you should do this is simple...staying organized helps you to weed-out any bad ideas, and expand on the good ones!

As part of your eBay business plan, you will need to come up with multiple markets that you think may be profitably. Again, do this by visiting that "What's Hot?" section, and selecting a few that you feel are winners.

Here's another tip...if you want to know what the ending sale price was for a specific item, you can do that as an eBay member! It's a great way to find out if there is a potential profit for a specific item you are thinking of selling. If you can get an item for X amount of money, see what it's been selling for on eBay. That's the best way to evaluate a products potential to make you money!

Find Products to Sell

Many people use wholesalers to sell products on eBay. If you're just starting out with an eBay business plan, I don't recommend doing that. Save that until you have your feet wet with selling on eBay.

What I do recommend is going to your local discount store and finding a few things you can get cheap! Then, remember what they are and go home and search eBay for them. If they're selling for more than you'll have to pay, then you have yourself a winner! This is one way to do it, but you can certainly have your own method of finding products. Flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores are also great places to find selling items. Just make sure there's a potential for profit before you buy anything!

Hey, you've already started off on the right foot! Searching out an eBay business plan was your first step, now take the next one! Learn everything you can about the inner-workings of eBay and how to become a successful seller! It all starts by taking action!

When I first started out on eBay, I didn't think I would be making over $50 per day within a month. And, here's a little secret...eBay actually WANTS you to succeed! Find out why... eBay!