HOW TO START AN ONLINE AUCTION BUSINESS

by Carol Woods

Have you spent any time looking at online auctions? There are thousands of visitors to the big online auction sites every day, looking for something to purchase! This is an excellent place to find buyers of your products without having to do any significant marketing, and an inexpensive way to start making money without much upfront investment. Heres how to get started: First, decide what you will sell. ------------------ You can sell most anything via an online auction, but here are a few items Ive seen do very well in this venue: * Collectibles of any sort * Childrens items, especially clothing and toys * Handmade items, including quilts, soap, and dollhouse items * Craft supplies Select your venue: ------------------ Decide which online auction you will use to sell your items. Ebay (http://www.ebay.com) is the site with the most traffic, so it is an excellent choice, but Yahoo! Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com) and Amazon Auctions (http://auctions.amazon.com) both get significant traffic. Also keep in mind that there may be specialty auction sites for your particular item with customers looking only for what youre selling. Once youve selected your auction site, sign up for a sellers account. Find your products: ------------------ There are many ways to locate products to sell. Heres a list to give you some ideas: * Visit garage sales and flea markets * Peruse sale racks at local shops * Go to discount or dollar stores * Watch your newspaper for inventory closeout sales * Locate wholesale sources; buy large lots and sell in small lots * Start a consignment service, where you sell items for others for a fixed fee or percentage of the auction price List your item: ------------------ Develop an auction title with as much compelling information as possible, including a brand, size, color, and brief description. Write a description with a lot of detail, both to give potential buyers as much information as possible and to provide lots of keywords for searches. Include a good quality photograph of the item so prospective buyers know what theyre getting. Set yourself up for repeat sales: ------------------ Ship promptly, and leave feedback for your buyer as soon as they pay you. Then, set yourself up for repeat business by: * Including a card in your package with a link to your web site, your ebay user name, or other information about you to help them reach you later and to understand at a glance what types of items you sell * Contacting the buyer after they should have received your item to see if they are satisfied, and ask if they would like to be contacted when you list new items. Send out updates to all who agree when you do new listings. Heres where to learn more: ------------------ Make Your Net Auctions Sell! is an excellent guide to everything about online auction selling. You can read more about it by visiting their web site at http://mynas.sitesell.com/ibb.html You can receive a free 5-day email course called Net Auctions Masters by sending a blank email to mailto:tnamsibb@sitesell.net New to auctions? Visit ebay at http://www.ebay.com and see what we're talking about! Do a search on anything you can think of, you will be amazed! About the Author Carol Woods is the editor of Work at Home Income, a weekly publication of Income Building Blocks. IBB offers free ideas, information and inspiration for moms who work at home or want to! For lots of free ideas to help you find a work at home job or start a home based business, visit us at http://www.income-building-blocks.com and sign up for Work at Home Income!