Sarah Loves... eBay

Whenever I think about buying something, I normally head straight to eBay to see if it's cheaper on there first. With the iPhone app it becomes even easier for me to trawl through whenever I'm out and about and check. I wouldn't say I check it every day but sometimes I have stored up a list of wanted eBay purchases that I can be on there for a few hours sometimes.

I've even sold quite a few things on eBay too. It's a great way to de-clutter and to raise some extra pennies too. I've even been surprised by how the things you don't think will sell for much will actually be the things that sell for the higher prices!

I know a few people who have started eBay Shops and I had one ages ago when I was selling more stuff on a constant basis.

Here are some handy tips -

1. Create an office space or special room inside of your house or apartment for your ebay business. If you want to start a ebay business and make it successful then you are going to want to be able to focus and concentrate on your ebay goals. There is no better way to do this than to have your own office. 
2. Write an ebay business plan. This is an important step when you start a ebay business and is most often overlooked by many new online ebay sellers. It is imperative that you put one together, even if your business plan is created on napkins! You will have to include a mission statement, a vision of your goals, your ebay profit and loss estimates, etc.  
3. Create a checklist of what items you will need to set up your ebay campaign. Obviously, when you want to start a ebay business you will need to get your products listed and in view of others. Your checklist will include having a photo taken of your item, resizing and cropping your photo, creating your title and description of the ebay auction, and of course - answering your bidder questions when available. 
4. Decide on what you are going to sell on ebay. You cannot start a ebay business without a product. This choice is a personal one. You can find ebay products to sell from a wide range of sources. There are a few books on the subject of finding products to sell when you start a ebay business. 
5. Learn to budget your time as efficiently as possible. Start a ebay business with extreme time precision. In other words, if you have 5 hours a day to devote to making money on ebay then do not waste any time browsing through message groups, emailing your friends, or pondering an idea too much. 

When I buy anything from eBay I always head to Big Crumbs first. You earn cashback on purchases you make on 1000's of online retailers and the money is paid into your paypal account (month in arrears). It's a nice surprise each month to get my Big Crumbs payment into my account. It helps with my eBay spending habit! 

Now if you excuse me I must go and check on eBay get on with my work