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Thursday, December 29, 2005

The eBay Opportunity - Part II

So, what does my experience have to do with you and your potential to earn income with online auctions? Well, it has shown me several reasons why eBay can be an ideal home-based business as well as how easy it is to get started. Following are some of the reasons I think you should seriously consider eBay if you are looking for ways to earn income from home:

  • Complete flexibility and control. Are your children sick? Instead of having to postpone tonight's Creative Memories class or Discovery Toys party in order to care for your children (and possibly not reschedule), you can modify your schedule to accommodate their needs.

  • No required minimum sales in order to earn a certain level of commission and bonuses.

  • You can work at absolutely any time of day or night, for as much or as little time as you decide, allowing you to keep family priorities and obligations.

  • Easily scale back if personal commitments require it.

  • Easily increase sales if personal finances require it.

  • Total autonomy – no boss, supervisor, or district manager setting goals for you, telling you when to work or how to work.

  • No rah-rah meetings to go to in order to get pepped up and excited like so many party plans and multi-level marketing programs.

  • Family involvement – you can include your children in your eBay business to the extent you desire, teaching your children valuable lessons about work, discipline, structure, economics, and so much more!

  • Very low – or no start-up costs. It depends on what you start with. I started by selling wallpaper border that we had sitting around the house for a couple of years. It cost me nothing to get started. This one thing really sets eBay apart from most other work from home opportunities – the fact that you can get started very inexpensively.

  • Quick growth potential – it is possible to make hundreds of dollars per month shortly after getting started. I did and know many other people who have done the same.

  • Able to change your focus easily. Avon is Avon and Pampered Chef is Pampered Chef. If you get tired of selling kitchen wares with Pampered Chef, you have to find a new business that appeals to you, sign up, pay whatever start up fees are required, and attend training. If you get tired of selling kitchen wares on eBay, you simply purchase different items to sell and make a few changes in how you do things.

  • Merchandise not limited or dictated by a catalog created by somebody else. You have the ability to be as focused or diverse in your offerings as you want. Control over costs – some home-based business opportunities require a minimum monthly purchase – if you fail to sell that much, you buy the product to make up the difference. There are also other expenses – catalogs, order forms, etc. that decrease your profit margin. Yes, there are fees associated with eBay but you have more control over them than you do with the costs associated with selling with some other companies.

  • Quick turnover = quick money. Instead of selling through other online venues where your items might sit for months, even years, before being purchased, auctions last no more than 10 days, meaning relatively quick turnover and quick cash for your family.

  • No or low marketing/advertising costs. EBay does the advertising for you and most of the promotion you do online will be free.

  • Market your products internationally. Instead of being limited to the local market, take advantage of the international market that eBay has developed. eBay now has sites in 33 countries and you can market your wares on the largest and best-known online shopping venue in the world!

  • Instant customer base of people actively searching for your items! Although you will benefit from any efforts to expand your customer base, unlike most MLMs and other home-based business opportunities, your success won't depend on it.

  • Location, location, location! Doesn't matter on eBay! You can live in the middle of nowhere and make money on eBay. Depending on what you sell, of course, there might be advantages to living in a more populated area, but success doesn't depend on living near people who are interested in your products. Supplies can be purchased online; the mail carrier can pick up your packages; even product acquisition can take place in cyber-space. This also makes eBay ideal for people who are homebound for some reason or another!

  • You can make money while you sleep! Or while you are playing with your children or visiting a friend! It is such a thrill to log in to eBay in the morning anddiscover that something sold during the night!

  • No formal education or experience required! People with advanced degrees as well as those who never finished high school are realizing their financialgoals with eBay.

    So give eBay a look as you consider the various means of earning income from home. You can make it as big or as small as you want. Are you looking for enough money to pay for your daughter's piano lessons? You can do it on eBay! Perhaps your needs are bigger than that - you need an extra $500 each month just to make ends meet. You can do it on eBay! Saving for a once in a lifetime trip to Europe? eBay can help you reach your goals. Registering for eBay is quick and easy.

  • The eBay Opportunity - Part I

    A little over two years ago I was searching desperately for a way to earn income from home. My husband was working 6 days a week, sometimes 10-12 hours a day and was a member of the National Guard. Due to a variety of circumstances, however, I needed to contribute to our family income as well. A homeschooling mother of three children, I did not want to work outside our home.

    As I began exploring the opportunities available to me, I looked at all the typical ones first. Home baking, child care, sewing, typing, house cleaning...for one reason or another these either did not appeal to me or were unworkable. Then I looked at the various multi-level marketing programs and party plans. Having done two or three of these in the past, I knew how much work was involved and I also knew that despite being home-based businesses, they all required many hours outside the home if one was to experience any success. I also knew that I had always felt like somebody else was controlling my business, telling me what to do and setting my goals for me. I wanted something that provided more autonomy than that.

    An online friend suggested I try eBay. At first, I scoffed at the idea. I needed a serious way to earn steady income. eBay was not the solution I was looking for. Since I was coming up with no other ideas, though, I decided to see what eBay had to offer. My first foray into the realm of online auctions was not the most spectacular, but it did have a result that lead me to think that possibly eBay could provide the income I sought. About four months later, I decided to try it again - this time more seriously. I haven't looked back since.

    My initial earning goal was $400 per month. I achieved that within a few months of starting on eBay and have exceeded that goal every month since but one. Most recently, my sales have exceeded $1000 per month - a figure I once thought impossible to achieve. My next major goal is to replace the income I earned when I was teaching French in a public high school.