How to Make Money with eBay?

Timotheus Update: This post was originally published on 8 April 2020 on this website – Passive Online Revenue. Due to rebranding and consolidation of the two sites, the post is now on this website – https://timotheuslee.com/business/how-to-make-money-with-ebay/

There are many online marketplaces on the Internet today. And just like you, in my endeavor to create passive income, I tried a few of them. I tried eBay, then Amazon, and then eBay again. Today, I would like to share my experience on How to Make Money with eBay?

You will learn if this is an ideal option for making money on the Internet? Also, I will share about what I have learned and experienced selling on eBay.

I will list the advantages and disadvantages. And then explain how to make money on this marketplace.

So, why did I say that I tried eBay, and then Amazon, and then eBay again? Well, I did eBay many years ago. Then I stopped.

I moved on to Amazon where I created a private label product, and sold it on with FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon). I also tried drop shipping. That was when I returned to eBay.

---

What is eBay?

According to eBay, they are “the world’s online marketplace; a place for buyers and sellers to come together and trade almost anything!”

They started as an online auction site. And evolved into a shopping site.

---

How Does eBay Work?

For the online auction, you put up an item for sale. You specify an opening bid price. Over a set number of days, buyers will place bids on the item. When time is up, the highest bid wins.

For the online shopping side, you become a seller, and you list an item for sale. You offer to sell as a Buy It Now, and consumers can buy it at the fixed price that you indicated.

---

What Are the Advantages of eBay?

eBay surely has its advantages. That is why many people, including me, do this. Here are some of the benefits:

1. Huge market

eBay has 177 million active users. That is a huge market of potential customers for you.

2. Superb SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

While eBay may not be as powerful as Amazon in SEO, some products do get ranked high. Some even on the first page of search results. This translates to driving traffic to your listing, and getting more sales and revenue.

3. Instant trust

Shoppers are protected against scams and bad service on eBay. While your brand can be new and unknown to them, they will still buy because they trust eBay.

4. The option to auction

You can reserve a price so that you do not sell lower than what your product is worth. And you may even get a higher price than you asked for.

5. Lower fees

The fees at eBay are lower than Amazon. This means you get more profit from your sales.

6. Shipping Assistance

You get lower shipping costs. This pleases buyers as they get to save as much as 37%.

---

I will further expand on the above points in a future blog post. Please do join my I Love Passive Income Community to receive updates.

---

What Are the Disadvantages of eBay?

After some time doing eBay, I soon discover that there are also some disadvantages to this way of making money online.

1. You need to find good and quality products

2. You need to find good and reliable suppliers

3. You need to constantly monitor stock availability with suppliers

4. eBay favors the buyer

There can be customer complaints that can cause problems for you with eBay. This is because they will listen to the customer, and most often side with them.

5. There can be unfair customer reviews

An unhappy customer can leave a bad review. This can ruin your chances at succeeding at eBay.

6. You need to build brand equity

As a result, you will spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion.

---

I will further expand on the above points in a future blog post. Please do join my I Love Passive Income Community to receive updates.

---

How to Make Money From eBay?

Despite the disadvantages mentioned above, you are still keen and ready to make money from eBay? Awesome! Here is the first thing you need to do.

1. Choose a Niche

One of the things I learned when I did eBay was – Do not sell everything. The best approach is to choose a niche.

And it should be a niche that you are passionate about. For example, I love to travel. So, I chose the travel niche.

I know how difficult it may be to find and choose a niche.So, here is a video to help you. It by Kyle, an expert in online businesses. Click on the image below to watch the video now.

2. Choose a Product

Next, you need to choose a product within that niche. It is not easy to find the right product. There are so many things to consider.

For example, is there demand for this product? Is the cost price low enough to give you a decent profit? Can you find a good and reliable supplier for this product? Is the manufactured product of good quality? Who are the competitors, and what are their selling price?

So many questions. And these are just a few. As you research and look at products, you will find yourself asking many more questions.

3. Know Your Competitors

It may sound weird, but it is actually good to find a product that has competitors. This means it is in demand.

Then look at your competitors, and find out what they are doing. How they sell? And how they are doing?

The tough part is that when you sell the same product as your competitors, consumers will see no difference. As a result, they will buy the cheapest offer.

4. Find a Good and Reliable Supplier

You have to be very careful with this step. Over the years of doing eCommerce, I realized that finding a good and reliable supplier is very important.

A supplier must produce consistent and good quality products. They must have a good track record. They must offer a variety of payment methods and shipping.

When assessing a supplier, you should ask as many questions as possible to get all the facts you need. For example, ask about their production capabilities. Are they able to cope when your business grows and you need more products? Can they maintain the quality as the production and business scale?

5. Create Your eBay Store

When you are ready, you can set up your eBay store, and add your first product listing. Go to eBay, and open an account with them.

Passive Income Tip: Consider the fees for standard or paid subscription.

You will also need to have a PayPal account. This is for buyers to pay you with a credit card or a checking account. They can also pay you using PayPal. Also, you can transfer the earnings from PayPal to your bank account.

6. Create Your eBay Listing

You can list your item for auction or sale. For auction, you list the item, and give an opening bid. Allow a set number of days for shoppers to place their bids. At the end of the auction, the highest price wins.

Passive Income Tip: For auctions, set a Reserve Price.

You can also list your item for sale with the option – Buy It Now. You can set the price for the product. Shoppers know your offer, and when they agree, they will buy it straight out.

7. Complete That Sale

After you listing has a winning bid or buyer, you need to follow up, and ship the product to him or her. Do this immediately or you will get blacklisted by eBay.

Customer service is very important to eBay. After all, shoppers are their business. And they earn their profits when shoppers buy. So, they must make their consumer base happy.

So, after the sale is done, and payment is made, make sure you ship the item to your customer.

8. Grow Your eBay Business

To succeed with eBay, you should get feedback and give feedback. You can always ask your buyers to leave a feedback after they have received and used the product. Good reviews can encourage others to buy.

You should also leave feedback to your customers, too. It can help improve their reputation (if it was a good experience). This helps the buyer to enjoy a better shopping experience on eBay

---

The Better Alternative – Affiliate Marketing

Why Affiliate Marketing is Better Than eBay?

After you have read the above on how to make money with eBay, I am sure you realized one thing. It is a lot of hard work. That is all fine if you enjoy it.

I prefer to work less, and still make more money. And if you are like me, you would like affiliate marketing.

---

What is Affiliate Marketing?

I found affiliate marketing requires less hard work. And as such, it is more passive income.

Not sure what it is all about? Here is the video from Kyle, an affiliate marketing veteran of more than 20 years. He explains what it is all about. Click on the image below to watch and learn.

---

You can join the Free Starter Package with just your email. No credit card needed for this Free Starter Package.

There is some free training as well as really powerful tools and features to help you do digital marketing for your online business.

---

How to Make Money with eBay? – Passive Online Revenue Final Word

eBay has been around for a long time. And many people have made a lot of money from this marketplace. So, I do find it works.

But it can also take a lot of time. And money.

If you are starting out, and do not have a huge budget or looking something conservative to start with, then affiliate marketing is the best choice.

You can join the Free Starter Package with just your email. No credit card needed for this Free Starter Package.

There is some free training as well as really powerful tools and features to help you do digital marketing for your online business.

---

If you have ANY questions about How to Make Money with eBay?, ANY at all, please submit your questions as comments below. I will be happy to help you out.

As the digital landscape grows and changes, more opportunities will be created. I will continue to share more of these. To receive updates on more opportunities as well as more information on each of these opportunities, please join my I Love Passive Income Community.

Thank you for reading this.

Best wishes to All!

Timotheus