When Angie Cash of Kennesaw, Georgia, first became an eBay
entrepreneur five years ago (eBay User ID: cashco1000), she was
looking for a way to make money at home after the birth of her
second child. But she didn't expect that her home décor
items business would take on a life of its own-and need its own
place to live.
"I worked at home when I started, but the business
snowballed and took over our living room, dining room, guest room
and basement," says Cash, 37. "Plus, we used our two-car
garage and foyer as the shipping and receiving area. The business
became so invasive in our personal life that my husband finally
said, 'Move the business out of the house or
quit.'"
Cash didn't quit. Instead, she moved the business to a
2,000-square-foot house not far from her own home. Among the perks
have been a kitchen for taking breaks and a yard where both her own
and her employees' kids can play. But all that could soon
change. "The business has outgrown our second house, so
I'm now shopping for a 5,000-square-foot commercial/industrial
space," explains Cash, who projects her company's 2004
sales to reach $500,000.
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Such is the power of eBay, the monolithic e-marketplace that has
suddenly morphed into a retailing leviathan in a phenomenally short
period of time. It's common knowledge that eBay is now the
place for consumers on the prowl for the goods or services they
crave. But it's not always as apparent that a lot of average
people are quietly becoming eBay moguls-and that many of them are
doing it from the comfort of their own living rooms or the back
rooms of traditional storefronts.
You can do it, too. And the good news is, whether you want to
expand your brick-and-mortar business into the lucrative world of
e-tailing to boost profits or shift your eBay business's sales
into higher gear, eBay has a wide variety of tools available to
help you make your dreams a reality.
Why eBay?
If you've been doing business the traditional way from a
physical location, then taking the plunge into e-tailing on eBay
might seem a little scary. But the fact is, eBay is a snap to use,
and it's simply one of the best values around for moving
merchandise. After all, where else can you advertise an item for as
little as 30 cents and still compete on a level playing field with
some of the biggest retailers in the United States-or even the
entire world?
"The costs are so low that eBay really is an attractive
alternative for people who are looking for a new sales
channel," says Jim "Griff" Griffith, author of
The Official eBay Bible (Gotham Books)
and dean of eBay Education. "The outlay of cash for inventory,
a facility and employees, plus the expense of running a
brick-and-mortar business, are traditional barriers for folks who
dream of owning their own businesses. But eBay allows you to start
small with minimal expenses while giving you the same access to
buyers as every other e-tailer in the eBay marketplace."
If you already own a business, there's an equally compelling
reason to take the plunge into eBay today: It provides you with a
viable outlet for moving that merchandise that's been sitting
around in your storeroom or warehouse too long. Take a cue from Tom
Howle (eBay User ID: thowle), owner of Sound Services, a
professional audio store in Birmingham, Alabama, and an eBay user
for more than five years. He has listed and sold items that were
broken or missing parts (and disclosed the defects, of course)
rather than tossing them, since he knew the parts might be of use
to an eager buyer. "Even if you only get $20 for something you
otherwise would throw away, you're ahead," says Howle, 44,
whose business had 2003 eBay sales of $160,000-which makes up 36
percent of his company's total sales.
eBay provides you with yet another significant business
advantage that has nothing to do with selling merchandise. It's
also a great B2B channel for buying the merchandise and supplies
you'll need to run your eBay and/or brick-and-mortar
business.
For example, let's say you're a new eBay seller working
out of your own home. Although you may initially run that business
from your dining room table, eventually you'll need office
furniture such as a desk and filing cabinets, as well as equipment
like a copier and a fax machine. In addition, you'll need a
powerful computer system with a high-speed modem or cable
connection that will give you a lightning-fast hookup to eBay. But
rather than heading down to the local office supply superstore to
outfit your office, you should check out the eBay Business
Marketplace, where you can find everything you need, from cell
phones to clocks.
Need a reliable vehicle to tote parcels to the post office or
drop the kids off at soccer practice so you can hurry home and post
new items? At eBay Motors, you can search for great deals on new
and used vehicles alike. eBay is also a great source for the
packing materials, gift boxes and other supplies you'll need to
serve your customers, and, like everything on eBay, they can be
shipped right to the front door of your brick bungalow. In
addition, since items sold at eBay are often offered at a fraction
of their retail price, you'll spend less money on the tools you
need to run your business, which gives you more money to purchase
inventory you can sell to other interested parties.
By the way, selling to other eBay sellers is also a viable
option for entrepreneurs who wish to grow their businesses, as
wholesaler Gary Neubert (eBay User ID: gatorpack) has discovered.
This 52-year-old Tampa, Florida, entrepreneur has been selling a
wide range of packaging materials on eBay, including packing
peanuts and bubble mailers, since 1999. Although Neubert won't
divulge his sales, it's no secret that he's an eBay Gold
PowerSeller, which means his company racks up sales averaging
$10,000 over a period of three months. (You'll read more about
PowerSeller status later.) His eBay business has been so
successful, in fact, that he closed his commercial distribution
location about six months after entering the eBay marketplace and
now sells exclusively online.
"eBay has given us phenomenal exposure to the
marketplace," Neubert says. "So while we're
business-dependent on other eBay sellers, the market is several
inches deep and miles wide. We also have a high percentage of
repeat customers because we have a shipping guarantee that forces
us to ship the day orders are received, or we pay the shipping
costs."
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