Copyright @ 2006 Peter Arkwright
The trouble with making an income out of EBay is

1. The competition is fierce
2. Most of the good ideas have been exhausted
3. You may not have the finances to buy in stock

About 6 months ago my son decided to have a go at supplementing his pocket money by trying to make money on EBay. I have no idea how he managed it however he is now earning approx '200 per month with no hassle or risk, He simply used the small amount of brains he was blessed with, from his mother's side no doubt.

Finding the right product

This was the most difficult thing, for weeks he looked at what other people were selling on EBay. It became apparent that many of the Power Sellers are simply selling items listed on Amazon, making their profit by marking up the prices slightly and then having them delivered straight to the winning bidders address. This idea was dismissed as the Power Sellers have this area well tied up.

I advised him to look for a product that would cost him very little to produce. He then spent the next week looking at all kinds of software, he had plenty of ideas, however I informed him he would not be allow to sell anything that would be illegal. I remember to this day he stomped off like Kevin the teenager.

The product

Eventually he exclaimed he had found the right product, software manuals, help manuals etc. I looked into the products he had chosen and found it was all legal.

He then went away and using his P2P software downloaded about 20 of these manuals.

The next day he listed the manuals on EBay, it took time to start with as his feedback rating was low, however eventually his orders started rolling in.

Over the past 6 months he has built himself up slowly and now earns around '200 per week. He expects his sales to grow at a slow rate in the future.

Conclusion

This has shown that there are still opportunities on EBay, getting young people involved not only gives them a little financial independence it also gives them the confidence to venture deeper into the business world.

Unfortunately EBay has become a haven for conmen and hoods, however there is money to be made by decent law binding people who are just looking to earn a few extra pounds, my son has shown that.

If you decide to give it a go, good luck.

About the author - Peter Arkwright recently retired from the military, he is now the Managing Director of www.bizseller4u.com
A new portal that allows people to list their Business for Sale

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