eBay® PowerSeller Business Practices FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter 20. Managing Your Business with Professional Tools

When you get to the point of running 20 or so listings a week (with an over-50 percent sell-through rate), I highly recommend that you start using a management tool. At this level of activity, eBay's Selling Manager will suit your needs nicely. But when your eBay business begins to push 60 or 70 listings a week, I even more highly recommend that you get additional help in the form of an auction-management service or software — Selling Manager Pro helps PowerSellers, too.

Note

Whether you use an online service or software installed on your own computer is a personal decision. You may find it easier to use an online system because you can log on to your selling information at any time — from any computer. But if you have a slow Internet connection or pay usage fees by the hour, managing your eBay business online can become impractical.

Most desktop-based software packages have features that enable you to do your work on your desktop computer and then upload (or download) your data when you go online. If your business doesn't actually need multiple locations to work from, and you run your eBay business from a single computer in your office, you may feel more comfortable with a desktop-based software product.

In either case, if your business has reached a level that demands an auction-management tool, congratulations! I want to save you some time finding the service or software that's right for you. In this practice, I outline ...