Make your millions on eBay

by Rebecca Burn-Callander - Friday, 31st October 2008 -

Adam Thomson designs car stereos and flogs them over eBay. In his first month, he sold ten of these handmade gadgets. Today, he’s shifting 1,000 units a month.

Thomson’s stereos are aimed at the mid-market music lover: i.e. boy racers looking for high output and decent quality, without paying through the nose. “EBay’s the perfect auction site to target these buyers,” he says.

Thomson currently turns over £500,000 a year. EBay is the sole outlet for his audio equipment, and he plans to keep it that way. “It’s a really simple, effective way to sell online,” he says. “Besides, the online retail sector is still growing while the offline sector is shrinking. EBay’s the place to be.”

EBay’s also shifted some of its rules and policies to make life even easier for the small business seller. If you have accrued lots of positive feedback (Thomson has over 10,000 happy customer ratings on his profile), you appear naturally higher in the listings. There are also discounts on volume sales; the more you sell, the less you pay.

“For £3 you can list an item with a £100 price tag,” says Thomson. “That’s a lot of eyeballs for £3.”

What are you waiting for?

Picture source

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