Posts Tagged ‘New Business’
Start an eBay Business Now!
Jason James asked:
Home-based business is fast becoming a popular trend in the market today. All you need is a computer and a good internet connection and poof! You’re all set for a new business. There are many sites that help budding entrepreneurs start their own businesses. One of which is eBay.
eBay is a very familiar name to people who always surf the net, but what about those who doesn’t know much about eBay?
To start with, eBay is a place where most people shop. In short eBay is a virtual shopping center stuck on your computer. It is also one of the biggest shopping sites in the internet with almost 50 million products and services and it’s till counting. And of course if there are goods, there are entrepreneurs.
How does one become an eBay entrepreneur?
First thing to do is get to know about the site. Know about how an eBay business shop works. There are help pages available for eBay visitors. For starters there are online guided tours that could best help you navigate and to learn more about the site.
Think of what you can sell. Then make your mind up on the item or service. Many people on eBay sell almost anything they could find in their house. As long as it’s still in good shape, someone will be interested.
If you don’t have anything to sell, start with something you have a background with. It is advisable that you have an experience with the product.
There are things to consider in starting a business whether online or in the real world. Things like cost, shipping, storage, product life cycle and the season are always to be considered.
Cost is different from price. Cost is the total expenses that go with the product. This will include the actual price of the items if you’re buying them in order to have stocks of it, the shipping if it will be delivered to you and to your client, the rent of the storage room and other things.
Shipping is the delivery of the goods. You have to know how much it will cost you to deliver the items to your client. And of course how much will you charge your client of the labor and shipping fees. The condition of your item is also to be thought of. This concerns the physical component of the product. Is it fragile or too heavy?
Storage is the place where you place your goods while waiting for the clients to buy it. You must have a sufficient and safe place to store the goods.
The life cycle of the product means the demand time of the product. You should mull over on how long the product will be able to attract potential buyers.
Season is also a consideration. Items sold on the wrong season might just get a negative response from the shoppers.
Putting a photo of your product is a plus! This will hold the interest of your potential buyer. The first photo you put up is of no charge but the next ones are charged.
Setting up an eBay shop is very easy. Since it has no start up costs, and no time restrictions, eBay is the best place where you could market your goods!
Home-based business is fast becoming a popular trend in the market today. All you need is a computer and a good internet connection and poof! You’re all set for a new business. There are many sites that help budding entrepreneurs start their own businesses. One of which is eBay.
eBay is a very familiar name to people who always surf the net, but what about those who doesn’t know much about eBay?
To start with, eBay is a place where most people shop. In short eBay is a virtual shopping center stuck on your computer. It is also one of the biggest shopping sites in the internet with almost 50 million products and services and it’s till counting. And of course if there are goods, there are entrepreneurs.
How does one become an eBay entrepreneur?
First thing to do is get to know about the site. Know about how an eBay business shop works. There are help pages available for eBay visitors. For starters there are online guided tours that could best help you navigate and to learn more about the site.
Think of what you can sell. Then make your mind up on the item or service. Many people on eBay sell almost anything they could find in their house. As long as it’s still in good shape, someone will be interested.
If you don’t have anything to sell, start with something you have a background with. It is advisable that you have an experience with the product.
There are things to consider in starting a business whether online or in the real world. Things like cost, shipping, storage, product life cycle and the season are always to be considered.
Cost is different from price. Cost is the total expenses that go with the product. This will include the actual price of the items if you’re buying them in order to have stocks of it, the shipping if it will be delivered to you and to your client, the rent of the storage room and other things.
Shipping is the delivery of the goods. You have to know how much it will cost you to deliver the items to your client. And of course how much will you charge your client of the labor and shipping fees. The condition of your item is also to be thought of. This concerns the physical component of the product. Is it fragile or too heavy?
Storage is the place where you place your goods while waiting for the clients to buy it. You must have a sufficient and safe place to store the goods.
The life cycle of the product means the demand time of the product. You should mull over on how long the product will be able to attract potential buyers.
Season is also a consideration. Items sold on the wrong season might just get a negative response from the shoppers.
Putting a photo of your product is a plus! This will hold the interest of your potential buyer. The first photo you put up is of no charge but the next ones are charged.
Setting up an eBay shop is very easy. Since it has no start up costs, and no time restrictions, eBay is the best place where you could market your goods!
Ebay Basics: How To Keep Your Profits From Evaporating
Steve Dempster asked:
If you’re fairly new to eBay, or business in general, you may be scratching your head and wondering why your profit isn’t what it should be. This article looks at some ways to plug the profit hole and keep you afloat!
There are two main aspects to ensuring profits in business - and this applies to any business, eBay or otherwise. Let’s look at them in turn. The first is the gross profit margin.
This is the term applied to the portion of any sales amount that is the profit element. For example, if an item costs you $50 and you sell it for $100, it’s tempting to think you’ve made 100% profit. This is incorrect - what you have in fact done is applied a 100% mark-up to your cost, which equals a 50% gross profit margin. This, for newcomers to business, is a common mistake and can give the trader a much rosier view of their profit margin than is real.
Also, the difference between gross profit margin and nett profit - the magic ‘bottom line’, so called because the nett profit always appears on the bottom line of a profit and loss sheet - is something not always fully understood by newcomers to business and trading. Put simply, nett profit is what you have left after everything else is paid out. These payments include such things as rent for premises, rates, staff wages, transport and insurances. These cost elements are usually known as overheads.
Although a full explanation of overheads is beyond the scope of this article, basically they are, as described above, anything that is not classed as ‘direct costs’ - defined as what you pay for your stock. Too often these overheads are either ignored or simply forgotten - and this can have a disastrous effect on the difference in the amount of money you should be making and the amount you actually are making.
This difference can, in some businesses - especially those in high-volume, low-margin markets - mean either success or failure. So - what can be done to ensure that this does not happen to your business? For that we turn to the second aspect of ensuring profits in business: price setting.
Price setting literally means just that - setting the price for any item that you are selling. Again, a full discussion on price setting is too large in scope for this article but, basically, you must set a price for your item that will do two things - firstly, the price must be competitive (you have to sell your goods!) and secondly the gross profit margin must be sufficient for you to make the nett profit you require.
This may seem very straightforward but there is one ‘hidden’ charge that is regularly overlooked by those traders who use eBay and PayPal on either a regular basis or as a core business vehicle. This is, of course, the percentage charges levied by eBay for listing your items and also the final value fees. As for PayPal, the charges for accepting money via their service are significant. In fact, to set a price for an item that will take into account eBay and PayPal charges the formula is cost price + required profit + 15%. This is a rough figure but certainly not far off the mark and a good ‘rule of thumb’ to work to.
What this means in real terms is this: buy an item for $50. Say you want a 50% gross profit margin - plus $50. Now say you sell your item. Your overheads (so you think!) equal $30, leaving you with a nice $20 bottom line nett profit. Whoops! You forgot the eBay and PayPal fees! These equal roughly 15% of you sale price which is $15. Suddenly your $20 nett profit is reduced to a measly $5!
This equation is even more important when selling items on eBay by the auction format. It’s very tempting to just put the item on at $5, or $9.99, or whatever - ‘because everyone does that’. I beg to differ. Many people may do that but the ones making money are those who stick to a formula such as the one I’ve listed. If your item does not sell, or regularly falls below the price you think is viable - choose another market or maybe another supplier.
The moral of this article is simple. Always, always examine all your costs before setting your selling price. Failure to do this may not result in total disaster - but you will be making far less than you should be!
If you’re fairly new to eBay, or business in general, you may be scratching your head and wondering why your profit isn’t what it should be. This article looks at some ways to plug the profit hole and keep you afloat!
There are two main aspects to ensuring profits in business - and this applies to any business, eBay or otherwise. Let’s look at them in turn. The first is the gross profit margin.
This is the term applied to the portion of any sales amount that is the profit element. For example, if an item costs you $50 and you sell it for $100, it’s tempting to think you’ve made 100% profit. This is incorrect - what you have in fact done is applied a 100% mark-up to your cost, which equals a 50% gross profit margin. This, for newcomers to business, is a common mistake and can give the trader a much rosier view of their profit margin than is real.
Also, the difference between gross profit margin and nett profit - the magic ‘bottom line’, so called because the nett profit always appears on the bottom line of a profit and loss sheet - is something not always fully understood by newcomers to business and trading. Put simply, nett profit is what you have left after everything else is paid out. These payments include such things as rent for premises, rates, staff wages, transport and insurances. These cost elements are usually known as overheads.
Although a full explanation of overheads is beyond the scope of this article, basically they are, as described above, anything that is not classed as ‘direct costs’ - defined as what you pay for your stock. Too often these overheads are either ignored or simply forgotten - and this can have a disastrous effect on the difference in the amount of money you should be making and the amount you actually are making.
This difference can, in some businesses - especially those in high-volume, low-margin markets - mean either success or failure. So - what can be done to ensure that this does not happen to your business? For that we turn to the second aspect of ensuring profits in business: price setting.
Price setting literally means just that - setting the price for any item that you are selling. Again, a full discussion on price setting is too large in scope for this article but, basically, you must set a price for your item that will do two things - firstly, the price must be competitive (you have to sell your goods!) and secondly the gross profit margin must be sufficient for you to make the nett profit you require.
This may seem very straightforward but there is one ‘hidden’ charge that is regularly overlooked by those traders who use eBay and PayPal on either a regular basis or as a core business vehicle. This is, of course, the percentage charges levied by eBay for listing your items and also the final value fees. As for PayPal, the charges for accepting money via their service are significant. In fact, to set a price for an item that will take into account eBay and PayPal charges the formula is cost price + required profit + 15%. This is a rough figure but certainly not far off the mark and a good ‘rule of thumb’ to work to.
What this means in real terms is this: buy an item for $50. Say you want a 50% gross profit margin - plus $50. Now say you sell your item. Your overheads (so you think!) equal $30, leaving you with a nice $20 bottom line nett profit. Whoops! You forgot the eBay and PayPal fees! These equal roughly 15% of you sale price which is $15. Suddenly your $20 nett profit is reduced to a measly $5!
This equation is even more important when selling items on eBay by the auction format. It’s very tempting to just put the item on at $5, or $9.99, or whatever - ‘because everyone does that’. I beg to differ. Many people may do that but the ones making money are those who stick to a formula such as the one I’ve listed. If your item does not sell, or regularly falls below the price you think is viable - choose another market or maybe another supplier.
The moral of this article is simple. Always, always examine all your costs before setting your selling price. Failure to do this may not result in total disaster - but you will be making far less than you should be!