and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a

I think Ebay is a great site that makes market dynamics transparent, but as for sustaining a business model, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Let me explain why.

Because Ebay is simple to use and very accessible to millions of amateurs, many people think developing an Ebay business is the logical place to start. So they start off by selling the household items that have collected in their basements and garages. The stuff sells and all of a sudden, these people think they are business geniuses. "I made MONEY on EBAY!!!"

The next thing they do is try to find other things to sell on Ebay. They know they must buy at wholesale prices, so they go to their computer and Google “wholesale suppliers” or some similar search.

Now they’re officially “in the game”. By the time this game is over however, they will most likely have lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and will have pretty much given up on starting their own business.

There are two main reasons that make Ebay one of the most difficult mediums in which to succeed.

1. Competition. Ebay is the one of the largest websites in the world. It attracts millions upon millions of buyers and sellers. Because it’s such a huge marketplace, and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a g

place to start. So they start off by selling the household items that have collected in their basements and garages. The stuff sells and all of a sudden, these people think they are business geniuses. "I made MONEY on EBAY!!!"

The next thing they do is try to find other things to sell on Ebay. They know they must buy at wholesale prices, so they go to their computer and Google “wholesale suppliers” or some similar search.

Now they’re officially “in the game”. By the time this game is over however, they will most likely have lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and will have pretty much given up on starting their own business.

There are two main reasons that make Ebay one of the most difficult mediums in which to succeed.

1. Competition. Ebay is the one of the largest websites in the world. It attracts millions upon millions of buyers and sellers. Because it’s such a huge marketplace, and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a

w they must buy at wholesale prices, so they go to their computer and Google “wholesale suppliers” or some similar search.

Now they’re officially “in the game”. By the time this game is over however, they will most likely have lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and will have pretty much given up on starting their own business.

There are two main reasons that make Ebay one of the most difficult mediums in which to succeed.

1. Competition. Ebay is the one of the largest websites in the world. It attracts millions upon millions of buyers and sellers. Because it’s such a huge marketplace, and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a

p on starting their own business.

There are two main reasons that make Ebay one of the most difficult mediums in which to succeed.

1. Competition. Ebay is the one of the largest websites in the world. It attracts millions upon millions of buyers and sellers. Because it’s such a huge marketplace, and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a

and you are listing your goods right next to your competition (who sells the exact same item), the buyers do not see much more than price. “Who has the lowest price and a feedback score that looks pretty good? That’s who I’ll buy from!”

Ebay is extremely price driven. And even if you think you have a great source for your product, there are others that will be selling below cost (ie. losing money) due to overstock situations or selling an item as a loss leader.

2. Fraud. What may one day be their downfall, fraud is extremely prevalent on Ebay. Both on the buyer side and seller side, scammers love to use Ebay. It’s anonymous, fast, and there are plenty of potential victims. If you sell on Ebay for any amount of time, you will be contacted in some way by a scammer looking to rip you off. No other business has to deal with fraud on this level.

So even though I sound all doom-and-gloom, you can succeed on Ebay. You just need to use it in the right way.

You will be that much further along when you accept that Ebay now belongs to the very big seller with very deep pockets. Many of these sellers typically have retail brick and mortar stores to accompany their online efforts. So selling general-type merchandise like cameras, dvd players, clothing, jewelry, etc., is usually a losing proposition.

To succeed, you must be one of two things on Ebay:

1. A niche player.

Or,

2. A manufacturer.

Niche player - What I mean h