Chapter 1: Understanding Online Retailing
In This Chapter
- Evaluating your six-month merchandise plan
- Using demographics to market your business
- Knowing your market — right now
- Catching trends
- Knowing what's hot on eBay
- Discovering what's hot online
I'll bet it's no surprise to you that most eBay sellers lack a solid retail background or education. Most of us come from different walks of life, and just about all most of us know about retailing is shopping — that's probably how we first found eBay. Now, that game is about to change. The more we choose to sell, the more our businesses grow, and the more we need to know about the business of retail.
eBay sellers use many types of business models. Some sellers are constantly on the prowl for new products and stock their merchandise as soon as they find a deal. Others follow the trends and try to get stock of the latest and greatest gizmo that they hope will sweep the country (and eBay). And sellers who run their businesses by selling for others are constantly beating the pavement for new customers to serve. Then there's the new eBay entrepreneur. Just like a brick-and-mortar retailer, today's online sellers have to keep up on the trends so they can stock up on the most popular items for the coming seasons.
Be sure you understand how you want to run your own business. Ask yourself the following questions and give some thought to your answers:
- Who is your customer? Know their demographics and where you can find them. (Book VI gives ...
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