eBay: Perfect Place For The Aspiring Entrepreneur

Steps on how to get started and how to find your inventory for eBay

Have ever you wanted to make money from home with little to no investment? I have and here’s how I was able to do it, by selling on eBay. Shoot that’s what I have been doing for the past 3 months and I have been happy so far. Here are couple of reasons why you should consider selling on eBay:

• It's Fast. Just create an account (it's free), start an auction that same day and get paid for you item within the week.Yeah that fast!

• It don't cost much. If you already have stuff lying around your house that you were planning to get rid of or trash. You have inventory then my friend so all you got to do is post and cover the shipping when it sells. Plus, you get it back when they receive the item.           
• There market is already there. There is close to 152 million users on eBay. Plus, the eBay mobile app makes it easy to sell and buy on eBay. Who needs to make a website to sell stuff these when we have eBay.

Now don’t get me wrong it does takes more than posting a few auctions here and there to make a steady income from eBay. I had to learn how all this works on my own, but I was also sitting on an inventory of retro boards games, computer software and clothes from a deserted rental property. You may not have an inventory like mine, but you might have something. If you decide to go thrift shopping, garage selling or clearance hunting you might want to research your goods and know their value.

Now here a couple of steps to get you started on eBay and where to find your inventory if you don’t already have it.

Part One: Getting to know the ins and outs of eBay.

If you've never bought or sold something on eBay before, now is the time to do it. Taking a test drive on eBay will not only help you understand how to use the website. It will also let you know if this is something that you want to continue to do.

1. Sign up. It’s simple all you need is an email address to register. So just go to eBay.com and sign up. Next sign up for a Pay Pal account, which will make it easy for buyers to pay you as soon as the item sells. It’s faster and safer than taking checks. Since eBay owns Pay Pal, they're integrated so that you can send a Pay Pal invoice through eBay to your buyer.
2. Time to buy. This is simple, scroll through the some eBay listings and choose a listing that may catch your attention. Most are auctions, where you need to bid on what you’re willing to pay. Some are where buyers can “Buy Now.” These don’t require bidding and the item can be bought right away as instead of waiting until the auction ends. Which can be the worst.
3. Time to sell. Now that you bought something how about you test out eBay by selling a few items. This will give you an idea of how the platform works, time to assess your offers, and begin to develop a system of listing, packaging, and shipping.
4. Invoice time. Some buyers will pay even before you invoice. You can send a Pay Pal invoice from within your eBay account. Once payment is made, pack up the item and ship it asap.
5. Time for Feedback. Feedback is crucial to eBay success. If your buyer pays quickly, leave positive feedback through eBay’s feedback system. Don’t forget to ask your buyer to give you feedback once they receive the item. Make sure that your item was delivered as described and arrives quickly to ensure good feedback from your buyer.

After you’ve made a few sales and made some money, you should be able to decide if this something you want to really pursue. Here are some of the best places and ideas to find yourself some inventory.

Part Two: Let’s Find Some Product

So now you have done the steps of Part One and still want to continue with selling on eBay, but you need inventory. Awesome now here are some ideas of what items to sell and where to get them:

• Walmart. Eventually, you’ll run out of items around your home, so you’ll need to find a new source of inventory. One of my favorite sources to use is Walmart, that’s right. Let me explain so occasionally, Walmart loves to put things on clearance especially after each season. Just make sure to download the Walmart app and scan every clearance item to make sure it’s marked correctly.
• Thrift Stores. What can I say about thrift stores, they are practically a haven for inventory! From books, clothes, shoes, toys and electronics that people saw no value in and just tossed to the side. Just use the eBay app to find that items potential to make you money.
• Garage Sales. Just like thrift stores, they're a good place for inventory. The only difference is that you can negotiate the price of the item since most of the time they want to get rid of it. Don’t forget to use the eBay app to find that item’s potential to make you money.
• Discount Store’s. Marshalls, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory and TJ Max, you get the idea. These stores are riddled with potential inventory such as shoes, clothes and toys. I always check these stores when I’m running low on inventory. With the help of the eBay app, I scan items I feel would make me some money. Just scan the item’s bar code and see what others are selling the item on eBay and if it’s cheap enough, buy it.

As you can see there are many places you can go to find your eBay inventory. While many of them are great options, don't forget there are also tools to help you in finding what will make you money. Like the eBay app and Walmart app, all you got to do is hit up the App store or Google Play and download them for free. Now go out there and make that money.