This is a popular online business model that a lot of people usually start out with. Ebay is a popular online auction website that millions of people use every day to find good deals on items they are looking for.

You can sell anything you have at home as well as selling items using a drop ship method. If you do a search on the ebay site, you will see a whole variety of items that people are selling. They could be used items or brand new items that come from wholesalers. Either way, people will pay good money if you provide them with what they’re looking for.

Some people go so far as to buy items from flea markets and garage sales for the sole purpose of reselling them on ebay for a profit.

What skills are helpful?

There aren’t a lot of skills you would need to sell items on ebay. The ability to market your items will be the most important one to have. People can do a search on the site for the items you’re selling, but if you want to make money in this type of business, you will want to market those items elsewhere to get people to find them.

If you’re selling items from your home, you should be able to take a good photo of the item so people can see what shape the item is in.

What tools are needed?

Really, the only tools you should need to start this type of business is an account with e-bay to sell your items. If you plan to use a drop ship method, you would have to find a wholesaler that will ship the items direct to the customers. The best place I have found to date to find wholesalers and dropshippers is Salehoo. It is a New Zealand base company that has check out the best Wholesalers and Dropshippers around. Unlike other directories I have seen, Salehoo allows other to leave feedback on their experiences with the companies involved.

An access to a computer with a reliable internet access will be necessary to keep track of your sales. You will also need an online account like PayPal to receive money from your customers.

How do you get started?

Sign up for an account with Ebay that allows you to sell from them. Plan to purchase items from the site as well to help build your user ratings, so people will have a little more confidence in buying from you.

Place photos, if possible, of the items that you want to sell. Items that have a photo of items sell much faster than those that don’t. People like to see what it is they’re buying, so provide them with the best quality photo possible.

Review all informational materials as well as the rules on the Ebay website, to get tips on making more sales and how the process of selling on the site works.

Selling on Ebay is an excellent way to start your own online business. This gives you your first taste of an online business without having to have a lot of equipment to get you started. Plus, you get the benefit of getting rid of items that are cluttering up your home while you make a little money on the side.

There are also some good training and mentoring people around to help you get your Ebay business up and running. Matt and Amanda Clarkson from Bidding Buzz, whom I have known now for almost ten year, are probably the leaders in this area. They have gone from being a builder and personal trainer (and trust me Amanda was a task master when it came to personal training), to selling almost one million dollars a year online with ebay within a very short time. They are now passing on their knowledge.