Is Ebay worth the hassle?

Question

I currently own a wedding related business. I have my own web site and I have a facebook group and yahoo group for it. Its still in its first 6 months so waiting to see how all these option help or not as the case maybe.

I was looking at selling my designs on ebay to get myself known a it more and to make some money whilst i'm waiting for things to lift off.

I've had a look around on ebay and found ALOT of people sell items simlar to mine. Some look like they do well, others do not.

Do you think it's worth me trying out the ebay option? I aleady have an ebay profile .... do I sell my designs under this user name as it already has feeback etc ... or do I start a brand new one that's linked to my website? Or can I change the name of my user ID on ebay to one that mirrors my web site?

How do I go about standing out from the crowd?

Thanks in advance.

www.crystal-jewels.co.uk

Answer 1

Nice site.

EBay:

I'd say ebay is expensive, people have for gotten that they're there to make money not spend a lifetime spending it.  Howeve if you have got the time and money to spend earning then thats up to you. You do what suits you best.

Focus on what youre selling.  I suggest not just selling on ebay alone but branch out as others are starting to do. Go for free services too where millions are selling each time.

Tip; theres http://www.sellit-right.com/index.php and http://www.amazon.com too so try those, they may be even cheaper for you!

If youre selling on eBay budget and carfefull about how much you spend on fees! Remember you want to earn selling.

Hope I helped some.

Answer 2

This is a good question and you've given sensible thought as to how to develop your business.

Ebay in itself is probably not enough to base your business on - the fees etc are high; there is plenty of competition, much of it poor.  But it does give you VISIBILITY, and will lead people indirectly to your own website.  

The aim is to build YOUR brand.

So,

(1) use your business name (or similar) as your ebay - id, - you need to change your existing id.

(2) on completed sales, make sure customers know all about your  products and services by enclosing brochures etc.

(3) You're right, in a crowded marketplace, you have to DIFFERENTIATE your product from everyone else.  

On (3), maybe explore the 4 'p's  of a marketing plan:

Product - ways to make your products stand out from others - higher quality, innovative designs, after-sales service etc

Price - ways of offering the best value (not necessarily by being the cheapest)

Promotion - ways of keeping your name in front of customers - thus ebay, Facebook etc are good things that build up.  Encourage word-of-mouth (surprisingly effective and free). After-sale questionnaires - "would you recommend me?" etc.

Place - different ways of distributing your product. Ebay is one way; attending wedding fairs, Ann Summers-type parties.  

and since you offer a service too, a further 2:

People - offering the personal touch - important for wedding stuff, in a way YOU are the product and people buy people (even when they think they're buying a product)

Process - ensuring the whole buying process runs smoothly - the nitty-gritty of getting the admin right.

So, yes - add ebay to you marketing plan; it's worth getting some decent HTML into your listings that matches your (good) website; don't count on ebay making you a fortune, rather it's a way of routing people to your website, and, finally, the difficult one, differentiating yourself from the crowd.  A few ideas above.

Good luck!

Answer 3

ebay used to be really good, now there are a lot of scammers!

i used to sell brand new baby items on there and i stopped for the simple reason that it was no longer profitable with their charges etc.....

personally i wouldn't do it again. i would go down the route of getting a decent website (which you already have) and ADVERTISE your business in as many places as you possibly can! radio, internet ads/google search engine, flyers-either walk the streets promoting or go into your local shops  & ask permission to leave flyers on the counter for customers to pick up at the tills. you need to check out your catchment areas-will you be internet based or do you eventually want premises of your own?

try these first and see what feedback you get and ask people where they saw you advertised, then you'll see over the coming months what option works best for you........

if you want to try ebay, then go ahead, i would use my own account with a decent amount of positive feedback so people can see that you are worth dealing with......

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BUSINESS ADVENTURE AND DONT GIVE UP YOUR DREAM!!!!!!!!

there is so much to learn when starting out, its impossible to know everything instantly.

as you have already started your business you may have done most of this already-------if not, its worth giving it a try.....

also, sell quality items regardless of where they are sold, and you will get the positive benefits in return. if you sell expensive tat then in general it will be short lived.

Answer 4

I think it's better to use this username since it's already an established one. I also recommend you try out multiply.com. A lot of people are selling their products there too. You can join different yahoo groups where you can post your website link so more people will know about your products. Goodluck to your business and have fun selling!

Answer 5

I tried ebay for years now ....I might say it;s alot of work ...If you planning to work a site job at home there better option than that ...

if you go to google and type in top secret magic code ebook ... choose the first result to find out why people are making so much money from that program you ll get my point  

I bought it last week ... top secret magic code or topsecretmagiccode works for me but it's not for everybody visit this top secret magic code testimonial review page to find out why? U dunt wanna lose your money before knowing the truth about it but it worth it compare to ebay

http://www.squidoo.com/top_secret_magic_...

Answer 6

I once knew of a guy whom, though he was in full-time employment, he never worked overtime on the grounds that he earned more money from selling classic motorbike parts for models that aren't made anymore, so yes, there can be some pretty serious cash made on eBay.

My personal experiences are somewhat different. I can't seem to upload pictures of the items I wish to sell, but that may have a little to do with the fact that I operate an Apple iMac.

My take on this is: Sure, go for it.

Answer 7

ebay is good if you know what your doing

for example i know a lot about ebay and my dad has been using ebay since the start helps his buisness alot and you can get great deals on it.

On the downside you can get ripped off

#1 tip check feedback rating if ratings are good than u can trust that person if low ratings don't bother.

I have gotten many great deals and never once got screwed with ebay so if you know what to do with it and it will take  some time to be able to spot out scams it will be very usefullll.