Starting an Online Business For Dummies®, 6th Edition

Chapter 13. Running a Business with Online Auctions

In This Chapter

• Opening an eBay Store

• Developing a solid reputation to attract more business

• Writing sales descriptions that attract bidders

• Giving your customers excellent service

• Starting a part-time or full-time eBay business

• Branching out to other marketplaces

As an online businessperson, you're concerned with establishing storefronts where customers can find you, browse through your products and services, and make purchases. Online auction sites such as eBay and its many competitors provide you with user-friendly options for setting up storefronts and marketing yourself and your merchandise.

eBay is now a fixture in the marketplace. More and more often, when consumers are looking to purchase rare or unusual items or simply to save money, they automatically turn to this popular auction site. For sellers of all sorts, eBay is a viable place to find customers and boost revenue.

Chances are, you've already bought or sold some items yourself on the world's most popular auction site. These days, signs show that eBay is no longer growing as fast as it once did, and sites such as Bonanzle, OnlineAuctions.com, iOffer, and others are growing in popularity. All these venues give you the chance to start from zero and have a business up and running in a matter of weeks, or perhaps even days.

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Learning from the pros: My own story

I was assigned, as part of the research for a book I was writing, to attend a convention in Atlanta of the Professional ...