Chapter 4

Making eBay THE Way

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Figuring out the basics of eBay

check Gaining eBay experience

check Starting an eBay item listing

check Opening an eBay store

In the past 21 years, eBay has grown from a quiet, small online bazaar into the most powerful consumer trading platform on Earth. Although other Internet companies grew overnight into sensations and burned out of existence just as quickly, eBay has remained profitable from the first month it started charging users.

eBay is an effective way to gain customers, establish cash flow, and turn over some inventory. The beautiful part of eBay is that it takes care of many routine tasks that you need to handle by using e-commerce: the trading platform, website, and software needed to transact the sale. The one thing that eBay can’t provide on its own, however, is a guaranteed stream of customers or income. Building an eBay business requires some work and effort, combined with a number of strategies and tactics.

In this chapter, we show you how to get up and running on eBay with auctions and fixed-price sales. Then, when you have your feet ...

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