Is eBay The Way?

by: Jennifer Clason

Is eBay the way to present your online business? You have to take some things into consideration before venturing into an online auction business.

First off, eBay charges fees to list items. Are you sure that what you have to sell is in demand on an auction site? For instance if you made custom wood cabinetry with someone's name engraved on it, wouldn't it be harder to sell on eBay if someone wanted it customized and engraved with several different options than just your "stock" item? You may want to consider having an online prescence - OFF of eBay.

Many eBay auction sellers are finding that the competition is too fierce for the items that they have been selling. If this is your case, consider these points:

• Having your own website lets you determine who you can link to. With eBay Storefronts, they don't even allow a link to your main website (if you have one)!

• Big corporations like Epson, IBM, and even Microsoft are now turning to eBay themselves to auction off last year's models and overstock inventory. How can you compete with that?
• Increasing postage costs, increasing eBay fees, increasing PayPal fees - you're profits are getting cut into right and left!

So if you find yourself having the eBay action blues, don't give up! Your products might just have to find a home of their own on your own domain. But the upswing is that you get to do it YOUR way!

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