eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1: Organizing Your Merchandise and Shipping Area

In This Chapter

• Organizing your stock
• Keeping inventory
• Packing up
• Buying stamps without a trip to the post office

The more SKUs you sell, the more confusing the storing and packing of all those items can get. As you build your eBay business, the little side table you use for storing eBay merchandise isn't going to work anymore (and I think you'll want your dining room back). You need to begin to think industrial. Even part-time sellers can benefit by adding professional touches to their business organization.

In this chapter, I emphasize the importance of setting up and organizing your back office. I cover everything from stacking your stock to keeping inventory to getting those indispensable packing materials and saving time by buying postage online. Organization will be your byword. Dive right in. The sooner you read this chapter, the sooner you can build your eBay back office and get down to business.

The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space

Whether you plan to sell large items or small items, you need space for storing them. As you make savvy purchases, maintaining an item's mint condition will be one of your greatest challenges. In this section, I cover the details of what you'll need to safeguard your precious stock.

Shelving your profits

Before you stock the shelves, it helps to have some! You also need a place to put the shelves: your garage, a spare room, or somewhere else. For the home-based business, you have a ...