By: Jason Kay
Submitted: 2009-04-11 11:02:37 | Word Count: 718
Starting an online business used to mean finding a product, developing a website, marketing that website, and hoping for the best. Searching online for ideas generally only gives you a bunch of people that want to charge you for a program that probably won’t work. These days there are many different big companies that will do almost everything for you except for deciding what product you wish to sell and getting started doesn’t cost you anything but time –and product of course .
Perhaps the easiest way to establish a business online is to start using eBay. There are still a number of people that are intimidated by this site but the site is extremely easy to use and there is plenty of help should you need it. You can open an account for free and have your business started literally in a matter of hours.
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The first account you will open will be a buyer’s account. This is done by giving eBay some of your personal information and is relatively quick. Then you have to set up a seller’s account. This step is a little more time consuming as you will have to provide bank account information and other vital information about yourself. Once this is done you are ready to start buying and selling on eBay.
You will also need to open a PayPal account as eBay primarily only accepts payments through PayPal. This too is free and you will again need bank account information and other vitals. The nice thing with PayPal is that it allows you to take credit card payments through them. This is usually done by a merchant in the real world and they take a nice percentage. While PayPal does charge for money sent to you –like payments , there is no fee to have your money in your PayPal account sent to your bank account.
A nice feature with eBay is that you can choose to sell your items several different ways. You can set up a traditional auction, where users bid on your items or you can do a fixed fee listing. You also decide the time length that the listing runs for. Depending on the format you decide on the listing can be in the range or one day –for fixed and auctions to 30 days –for store listings.
Another great feature about eBay is that they let you sell almost anything you want. There are select items you cannot sell which can be found on the site, but for the most part the sky’s the limit. Whether you want to sell baby clothes or DVDs, eBay has a home for it. You just have to decide what product –or products you wish to sell. A great way to get started is by selling things you have laying around your house that you no longer have a use for. You would be surprised at the dollar amount hiding in the closets and drawers of your home.
Once you refine your skills as a seller and have decided on what your product will be you can open an eBay store. This is great way to list multiple inventories and while there is a monthly fee, it is nothing compared to renting a brick and mortar spot.
Now the bad news; the fees. You will be charged a “listing fee” for every item you sell that will vary depending on the price you start the item out at and what style the listing is. When your items sell, eBay charges you a “final value fee” which also varies depending on final price. When your customers pay you with PayPal another fee is charged. These are all fractional charges mind you so you won’t get walloped as hard as you may think. But consider the fact that you will not have to set up a website which can be extremely costly or do any marketing as eBay has literally millions of users on their site and they market for you.
Again, there are other businesses like eBay that will let you sell through them and market for you, but eBay is probably the easiest to use and the most well known. Starting an online business is easier than you think and can be started today by visiting eBay.
Author Resource:-
Jason Kay has been a successful internet marketing professional since 2004. He recommends learning more home business ideas at http://www.easyhomeinternetbusiness.com.
