Limited Edition! Rare! Hard to Find! Autographed Copy!
Look no further… it’s the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of
Entrepreneur’s eBay Startup Guide:
BONUS! Holiday Sales Secrets!
Up for bid: One new, unused, unread, unhandled by wandering toddlers issue of Entrepreneur’s eBay Startup Guide: Make Money on eBay
Starting bid: post one comment sharing either
- what you think you want to sell on eBay (relax, we’re just brainstorming)
- why you think an eBay business is right for you and how your passion for (fill in the blank) can support it
Buy It Now price: $3.99 at Entrepreneur Online or any newsstand or bookstore near you!
Buy Now or Bid Early! This one will go fast!
Contact me with any questions. Small print: Commenters who were previously lurkers must email me before commenting so I can be sure you won’t be posting any curse words or talking smack about the other eMoms at Home blogs. Because, have you seen Erika’s contests over at Parent Product Reviews? Pshaw. Amateur. 
* * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, I was kidding about the small print. First time commenters, you don’t really have to contact me first. And I am a big fan of Erika’s, so I am truly teasing. Now, that being said…
Let the faux auction begin!
It is faux for one primary reason, by the way: the winner of the issue of the totally not rare or hard to find issue of Entrepreneur’s eBay Startup Guide: Make Money on eBay will be chosen at random from all of the commenters on this post.
You are welcome to try to out-comment each other, though. Bonus eBay good karma points for the commenter with the most creative comment!
Put your eBay PowerSeller hats on, folks, because it’s brainstorming time! We’ve talked some good eBay theory so far, but now it’s time to start getting down to the nitty gritty. Why do you want to sell on eBay? What do you think you might like to sell? We have to start somewhere, so the “why” and “what” are key steps. We have plenty of time for “how,” but it won’t matter if you don’t know what your game plan is or what your goals are.
We need to build a solid foundation in order to be a successful seller and one of the absolute keys to being an outstanding seller is this: You have to know what you sell. Sell what you know.
In other words, sell what interests you now, what has interested you in the past, and what you believe will hold your interest in the future. Your experience and familiarity with your products, if not outright enthusiasm for them, will set you apart from the competition. If you don’t have an ounce of passion for your listings, your potential buyers will not have an ounce of patience for you.
Start thinking. Start talking. Start typing. Start sharing. Share your ideas. Share your goals. Share your dreams. eBay works best when it is personal, so show us what you are made of– tell us what you have in mind for your eBay business and how it relates to you.
Post your ideas in the comments section of this post and one commenter will be chosen at random on Tuesday, September 25, to receive a new copy of Entrepreneur’s eBay Startup Guide: Make Money on eBay.
It’s a wonderful eBay-dedicated issue that is an ideal cheat sheet for how to get started. We will be talking a lot about the upcoming holiday season and what that means for eBay holiday sales, so the “bonus” section detailing “Holiday Sales Secrets” is particularly valuable for both beginner sellers and experienced store owners alike. I highly recommend it to all of you considering starting an eBay business, either part-time or full-time.
Start thinking. Use the comments as your brainstorming notes. Post several times if you think of something more to say later. You have all weekend to think about it, so use that time to open your eyes to opportunities around you. Drop by some flea markets or clearance stores this weekend. Challenge yourself to spot eBay selling opportunities. I’ve told you how I came to be an eBay seller; there is nothing stopping you from starting the same way. Let the gods of capitalism reveal to you your next big eBay sale. Take it a step further and allow yourself to imagine where an eBay business could take you.
The bidding starts now. Bid early, bid often, bid high. Good luck!
*Oh, and, uh, the issue isn’t actually “autographed.” But I’ll be happy to sign my name all over it with a big fat marker if you’d like. Not that I authored anything in it… Yes, people, the value of this rare find just keeps going up. Let the bidding war begin!
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Let me be first. Honestly the why is that I need money. After 8 months of remodel, we are finally in and my husband and I are almost speaking again! I own my own unprofitable business that is now a luxury and it isn’t as much fun as it used to be. wah wah poor me, whatever! on to the what to sell, I have a couple of ideas… the first is Dublin dr pepper. It is the only dr pepper made with pure can sugar and is only sold within a sixty mile radius of Dublin, Texas. The next is pecans! They mess up my yard and my mower but apparently some people are crazy about them! So I got to be the first to comment, now it’s time for my nap.
Well, I’ve dabbled a bit but would like to become a bigger seller. I have too much good crap in my house, plus I’ve been picking up a few things all summer.
boosk are my downfal, so there’s plenty of those to go. Also, I have a thing for vintage and noticed other people do too. that’s one thing I did do my homework on - I checked out what actually *sold* as opposed to items there were plenty of with no bids.
I’ve got some vintage kitchen linens, aprons, some vintage clothes - and everythign has a story behind it.
Also, my teenage daughter wants to get into it. She’s into music big-time, so she’s focusing on rock tshirts, used CDs and music related items. We wound up buying a huge box of 45 reconds for $5 at a yard sale, just to ebay them!
Every time we go shopping now - regular stores clearance aisles, thrift stores, yard sale, we-re looking for things we can ebay.
it’s a bonding experience.
And I can spell, really I can! I just suck at proofreading some days.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to sell. I’ve got a few ideas that may (or may not) be profitable.
Like Andrea, I’m into vintage. I’ve thought of selling vintage bed sheets, vintage sewing patterns, vintage clothing, records, etc. I’ve also thought about selling baby clothing and other baby products.
I’m still brainstorming. But I think my love of all things vintage will be a help. And I also think my passion for working from home will help support the ebay endeavor.
Holli Jo, I LOVE your blog. It was just what I needed this morning. I have been looking for a job and it really stinks.
Maybe Megan can help us here but I found a list of “hot” items on ebay. I cannot find it now. The hottest thing in the baby section was cloth diapers!
Wow, thanks for the compliment, Julie! It makes me feel good that my experience can help others. Helps me feel that my unemployment is not in vain.
I had no idea cloth diapers were a hot seller…that’s something to think about. Let us know if you find the ‘hot items’ list.
And Andrea, I’d love to hear more about your experience selling vintage on eBay.
Well, I used to be a toy collector, but now it appears as though I am just a dust collector. I would like to recoup some of the money I spent on toys. But I would like to start on eBay by helping my Dad out. He has some valuable instruments he has been asking me to sell for him. He could use the money right now, so I need to get started.
I’m just getting into it myself.
Patterns, kitchen linens, even some clothes when I can find it. Stuff that ships well that is small and flat. Right now I’m building up a bit of a stash and cleaning out my own things.
Last yard sale haul I got a vintage potholder with a guy in a kilt. If you look at it right, it looks like George Bush! Hysterical.
I thought of another idea I had — sell items from Sarah Jessica Parker’s clothing line ‘Bitten’. Not sure if it will sell well, but it’s popular, and there’s only one store that sells it (’Steve and Barry’s’, and that store isn’t widespread.)
Okay, still brainstorming ideas here. I was in a Bosnian grocery store yesterday and saw Kinder Surprise eggs. That started me thinking about how much I love them. It made me wonder if selling foreign specialty items would sell on eBay. Another one of my random ideas…
I guess I’m the only one still thinking of ideas…(I really want that book, by the way!)
What about selling crafts on eBay? I haven’t researched it, nor do I have my craft made. But I do have ideas for what I’d like to make. But perhaps places like etsy.com is a better place to sell crafts…It’s worth looking into, though.
Or, perhaps craft supplies? I’m very into crafts right now, so my interest level is there. I wish I had access to Japanese fabrics and idea books - I’d bet those would sell. Other craft supplies, I’m not so sure.
I’m brainstorming! Seems like craftspeople have turned their nose up at ebay these days. Seems like they have all moved to etsy. If you go to arts and crafts business on this site, Lisa has an amazing blog full of information.
I’m with you, those japanese books and fabric are super hot right now.
As a professional photographer, all my money goes to the lab so I think there is something to be said for selling the supplies and not the item.
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=sweet*baby*bowtique check out this seller, she seems to sell only the directions and is a power seller!
oops, that link doesn’t quite work, add the babybowtique part to it
I’m also looking into drop shipping companies. However, it looks pretty complicated and possibly expensive to do. If anyone has any experience with it, I’d love to hear about it.
I too considered dropshippers, but felt I would be relying on a middleman. I would prefer to take a different route, but I am still considering it.
“Bidding” is officially closed now and the winners have been announced (yep, more than one!), but feel free to continue sharing your ideas. Some of these will be discussed in an upcoming article about how to research what will sell for you on eBay. I might even do some of your research for you!
Holli Jo - yeah craft supplies sell well, *especially* Japanes items and anything related to scrapbooking. (I did my homework.
)