To call an Internet auction an “Entrepreneur’s Dream” isn’t poetic license or part of the get-rich-quick rhetoric. Net auctions are the simplest way on this planet for the “little guy” to make money...
1) Targeted customers are at your doorstep -- With an Internet auction, your customers are already there and they come to you! We don’t have to look for customers because the auctions sites have already created a name for themselves, and they continue to attract millions of customers. But more importantly, they are targeted customers. Customers seeking tennis equipment won’t be looking at the coins you have for sale. And isn’t that the way you want it? Why waste time on customers who will never buy?
In this book, I refer to eBay more often than any other site. eBay is the...
... Queen of the sites. This is the company that started the auction frenzy, the one that others copy. eBay has more categories and registered users than any other site. Their information is more comprehensive and their services are broader than anyone else’s. However, eBay is not the only royalty in the kingdom. As you will see later on, another site might prove to be more appropriate for your merchandise.
2) There are no start-up costs -- Can you name any other business that has no start up costs? For example, “Entrepreneur” magazine claims that the average franchise costs $70,000! And when you buy your franchise, what do you get with it? Employees, rent, government regulations, incredible paperwork, the constant threat of lawsuits, grinding responsibility and twelve hour days... phew!
With a Net auction business, you have none of those expenses. All you have to do is register for free and you are now the proud owner of an auction business. What a contrast!
3) There is no financial risk -- Your maximum risk is $3.30. That’s the maximum charge on eBay to list an item for sale. In the event that your item doesn’t sell, that’s all you lose. On many of the sites, there is no charge at all.
It is wise to begin with merchandise that you already own (or go rob Mom or Grandma’s attic). No merchandise costs. The only exception is when you are selling a car or house. I don’t recommend that anyone begin their business that way but even if you do, your maximum risk is $50. There is a flat charge from eBay of $50 to list a property, with no further fees if it sells. If you wish to sell a vehicle, there is a $25 listing charge and another $25 charge if it sells.
4) You can start-up in 5 minutes -- Just fill out a registration form at the auction site of your choice, and you can begin selling.5) All you need is an Internet connection -- With other kinds of small or home businessess, you must spend money on advertising. And ads are not cheap. If we think about advertising a product or service on TV or radio, costs escalate dramatically. Contrast that scenario with this one -- the price of an Internet connection of $15 – $25 a month whether you are dealing with 5,000 or 5,000,000 customers!
6) You are open for business 24/7 -- The Internet is the only place in the world where a small business can be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are large numbers of people who shop when the rest of the world is sleeping. If we are available to these folks, our sales will be much higher. Why? Market researchers tell us that a large percentage of the merchandise that is bought is an impulse buy. If your items are available at your customer’s convenience, rather than yours, your profits will soar.
7) You can sell to the entire planet -- If you are selling in your home town, your buyers are limited to those people in your geographical area. With the Internet, the world is your customer. The typical merchant can expose his wares to more customers on an Internet auction than would see his products in decades in his home town. As The founder of eBay began the site because his girl friend collected Pez holders, and couldn’t find several that she was seeking. He reasoned that with a larger audience, she could find a greater selection. (I guess there weren’t too many Pez fanatics in her neighborhood.)
8) Auction sellers can live wherever they please -- In common with many other Internet businesses, geography has become irrelevant. For centuries, humans have had to live in cities if they wanted to engage in commerce at an expanded level. With auctions, you can live anywhere you please, as long as you have electricity. In fact, with laptops we don’t even need to be home. Want to run your auction business in a Winnebago, on safari, or cruising the Mediterranean? No problem. Wireless access and pager services are available. You can follow your auctions any time, anywhere.
9) You can make money without leaving home -- We never have to leave our homes to make as much money as we want. This has to improve family life in a significant way... want to go to the kids’ Little League games? Have lunch with your spouse several times a week? Work at 3:00 A.M. because you are a total night owl? Or perhaps you are a shut-in, disabled or taking care of aging parents. Doesn’t matter. You can participate in Net auctions without any restrictions.
10) Your computer is the only employee you need -- The computer gives you tremendous power and freedom. Unlike the giant companies, our employee doesn’t need a vacation. It takes no sick leave, and has no family emergencies. In other words, you have a 24 hour, seven-days-a-week loyal servant at your beck and call.
There are a lot of ads in opportunity magazines claiming that you don’t even need a computer to make money on the Internet. Well... maybe. But if you are serious about making money on the Internet, you truly need your own computer. Going to the library, or paying Kinko’s $12 an hour, is a very shortterm solution.
11) You can choose to be part time or full time -- Starting a business and getting it going is a full-time job, and then some, unless you choose to be an auction player. Because the Internet will carry on your business without you, you can keep your full-time job until you are ready to quit -- if ever. Some folks choose to remain at a part-time level. This removes the terrifying risk of having to give up the economic security of a job until you are well-established.
12) You can do your market research in advance -- Forget about guessing, hoping, praying, lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling and wondering if you are doing the right thing. With this business, it is possible to do your market research in advance and have a very clear picture of how well your product will sell before you even auction it.
13) Auctions are simple to learn -- Net auctions have a mercifully short learning curve. Notice that I didn’t say “no” learning curve. But rest assured that it doesn’t take long to begin playing like a champion. Net auctions are not like brain surgery, law school or quantum physics. To become a superior auction seller, it just takes some observation, attention and time.
14) There are no feelings of rejection -- Some people would rather be boiled in oil than try to sell anything because they are afraid of rejection. That will never happen on an Internet auction. The worst result is disappointment that your item didn’t sell. With Net auctions, the transaction is impersonal and no one will see you. The element of fear is totally absent.
15) You will make lots of new friends -- It’s very satisfying to talk with people who share common interests with you. With Internet auctions, you will get to meet many kindred spirits.
16) You can automatically become an expert -- Once you learn the field, it’s easy to become known as an expert. This is knowledge which may pay off in other ways. For example, a friend who sells jewelry on eBay recently had the opportunity to buy a large amount of it from the estate of an elderly woman. She sold the entire amount to a local jeweler before she could even get in on the auction site. She made $7,000+ in profit. She was then was asked to share her expertise at store level -- for a fee, of course.
Right now, there are millions of people involved in Net auctions and traffic continues to increase dramatically. Why? Well, there as many reasons as there are customers... but the key ones are shopping convenience, bargain prices, safety/security (no need to leave home!), and entertainment.
If you have been an entrepreneur for a while, you may have had the heartbreaking experience of pouring your energy and money into creating a successful business... and then have it fall apart for reasons that are not your fault. That’s happened to me, and it’s a pretty sad experience.
Will that happen with your auction business? Will you create a successful system, make piles of money and have it disintegrate? Definitely not! Your “dream business” is yours for the taking.
Doing business online successfully is really not complicated...1) Deliver good products or services that people need or want.
2) PREsell by “warming up” your visitors so that they trust you and then sell.
3) Attract targeted traffic cost-effectively.
Use Site Build It! to build a Web site that will super-boost your affiliate business and keep you in charge, not eBay. To see how to reduce risk, check out… http:/auctions.sitesell.com/
Are you ready to begin your new auction business? If you are, it’s time to take the first step. It will only take a few minutes. Go to http://www.ebay.com/ and I’ll meet you there...
