The
eBay trend
How
you can make profit from it now...
eBay
is becoming the Microsoft of online commerce and you can profit from it.
With over 40,000 people signing up every day on eBay there is a trend taking
shape that you can take advantage of.
Just as Microsoft established its Windows platform as the operating system of
choice for 95% of all personal computers, eBay is establishing itself
as the gateway to ecommerce for the next century.
What's in it for you?
Besides the obvious opportunities you have to participate directly on eBay.com
there are multiple other ideas that you can capitalize on.
Here are five ideas I came up with to help you brainstorm:
1 - Start an eBay club in your community. Chances are there are MANY
people in your area who would attend and you could benefit in many ways. For
example, you could become a consultant who teaches others to sell on eBay.
If you are currently part of such a club please let me know. Actually that
topic would probably make a great eBook! You could call it, "How to
profit by running an eBay club in your neighborhood".
2 - Do what one San Francisco based business is doing and open up an
eBay consignment shop.
In March of 2003 a company named AuctionDrop opened its first store. The
company advertised itself as a "drop off" eBay sales center. EBay
corporate wasn't involved financially in any way with the launch, but they did
provide a lot of help and information showing that they are firmly behind the
consignment sales concept.
3 - The world needs a "what's it worth on eBay" toll-free
phone service. SOMEONE needs to start this business. I'll use it! Feel free to
steal my idea...just mention me as your inspiration if you do!!
Here's how it would work:
An eBay fanatic like you or me is at a flea market and we come across a box of
widgets priced to sell! We think that these widgets would do GREAT on eBay,
but we aren't sure. We call the toll-free "what's it worth on eBay"
line and we speak to a live person with a fast Internet connection who can
tell us what similar items have sold for recently on eBay. They also access
other discount shopping pages on the web if necessary to determine the "eBay
value" of the item in question.
Using the camera built into your phone you could even submit the image of the
widgets to the analyst who is assisting you if it helps them determine the
value.
4 - Have a programming idea that will make the lives of eBay buyers or
sellers easier?
These products are a HOT market! I am personally approached weekly with one or
two new ideas that blow my mind. If you aren't a programmer you can
"rent-a-nerd" from sites like elance.com or freelancersdirect.com.
Have the expert make your idea come to life.
That's how PayPal got started! They tried to make the lives of eBay buyers and
sellers easier and eventually eBay bought them for MILLIONS (sounds like
Microsoft right?)
5 - Become an eBay GURU.
There are only a handful of eBay "experts" on the web. Sure there
are a lot of eBooks by anonymous authors who tell you things you could read
for yourself on the eBay help menus, but there are very few true experts who
make a full-time living teaching others the true insider information that
helps eBay sellers tap into the full potential of eBay.
If you follow the Microsoft model for a moment with me you'll see my point
here. In the mid 1980's there were only a handful of Microsoft consultants and
programmers. Now they are in demand and the good ones are VERY WEALTHY.
With over 40,000 people jumping on eBay every day I promise you that there is
a HUGE demand for one-on-one consulting and assistance. eBay's help menu is
good, but I am living proof that people don't rely solely on eBay.com to learn
about running an eBay business.
Where to start:
Sell and buy on eBay! Learn the basics and then listen to your customers. Ask
them how you can help. Odds are many of them will want to know how to sell on
eBay.
Spend some time thinking "BIG PICTURE" about eBay. The opportunities
on eBay go far beyond simply running some auctions and earning a few extra
bucks.
Some inspiration from Stephen Covey:
"Effective people are not problem-minded; they're opportunity minded.
They feed opportunities and starve problems."
Jim
Cockrum is the
author of "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay" Learn more about
his best seller at http://www.SilentSalesMachine.com
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