How to Start an eBay Consignment Business in Ten Easy Steps
By Shawna Newton
Have you ever wondered how to sell items on eBay? What if you took it a step further
after you learned the ropes and sold items for other people? I've been asked to sell items
for friends and family without a profit but what if I left a card at yard and garage sales to
help them get rid of items that didn't sell?
Actually, they would probably make more money on their items on eBay to begin with because
hundreds of people would see their listings 24⁄7. To top this off, line ads in the newspaper
are more expensive than an eBay listing ... even with your fee.
The First Steps in Establishing YoureBay Consignment Business
1. PayPal
The very first thing you need to do is establish a PayPal account. It's a bit of a "time
thing" as you will need to verify your identity. Part of this process involves verifying that
you are the owner of your bank account. When you sign up and input your information, PayPal
will send two small amounts to your account. You will then write those amounts down, log into
PayPal, click "Verify" and enter those amounts.
PayPal is ROCK solid, almost a Fort Knox, with their security so you don't need to hesitate
with giving them your bank account information. If PayPal wasn't as secure as it was, both
eBay (who assumed ownership of PayPal) and PayPal would crumble.
I remember once when I lost my login information and I had to almost literally jump through
hoops to get PayPal to help me out. Lots of snail mail and email to establish my identity before
they would release the information back to me.
Another nice feature that PayPal offers is a MasterCard debit card. You can either download
funds to your bank account or use your card as a credit or debit card. In a way, PayPal acts
like another financial institution. If all the funds aren't available in your PayPal account
when you make a purchase, the remaining amount will be deducted from your bank account automatically.
2. eBay Seller's Account
Once you have set up your PayPal account, it's time to go over to eBay.com and set up
your seller's account. You will have all of your payment information for PayPal to input at
that time, including where seller's fees will be deducted from (your PayPal account). If you
don't have the money in your PayPal account, the fees will be deducted from your listed bank
account when you signed up.
Selling on eBay today is relatively simple. You click on "Sell" and you are walked through
the process of listing your item(s), including uploading your pictures from your camera.
So, when you're setting up your eBay Consignment business, there are two things to keep
in mind with your charges: seller's fee and PayPal fee for the transaction. Frequently eBay
has special listing fees on sale and the fees for the transaction vary on PayPal. Be sure to
look at both so that you don't take a nose-dive on those with your profits.
In addition, if your client wants you to ship the item(s), you will need to tack on that
amount. The United States Postal Service now has flat fees for shipping different sizes of
their preprinted priority boxes. You can go to usps.com to figure out those charges beforehand
as part of the bill. USPS will also send the different sizes of boxes to you for free, and
you can also request "Carrier Pickup" so your carrier can pick up the item(s) during their
route (also free).
3. You'll need a Digital Camera
If you want to be professional with this eBay Consignment business, you need a decent
digital camera. Pictures are a MUST to get the highest bid amount for the item on sale. People
want to see what they're getting (wouldn't you?). Digital cameras are now so affordable that
almost anyone can have one. Make sure you buy one that has "SD Card Capability." This is so
that you can use the small card to store your pictures on and transfer them easily to your
computer when you do the listings for items.
| 
About BTH
User Agreement
Privacy
Site Map
Contact
News Feeds
RSS Feed
Follow @Stephen Bucaro
Start Your Own Web Business
