Chapter 8. The Second-Hand Reseller

In the first section of this book, we discussed the planning you need to do before you launch your eBay business. Deciding what type of eBay business you want to run is part of that planning.

So what kind of eBay business should you launch? It all depends, of courseon what type of merchandise you want to sell, how you want to acquire that merchandise, and how you want to price and sell it. This combination of what you sell and how you sell it will define your eBay business model.

If you browse through the various sellers on eBay, you'll discover a lot of different types of businesses. Some eBay businesses sell high-priced goods, some sell low-priced goods; some sell used merchandise, some sell new merchandise; some buy their goods at garage sales and estate sales, some buy direct from manufacturers. It's a real mix.

Interestingly, all these hundreds of thousands of eBay businesses can be divided into a few common business models. There are those businesses that acquire a variety of used merchandise to resell; those that buy bulk lots and closeout merchandise to resell; those that buy and sell collectible items; those that sell products that they themselves create or manufacture; those that sell new in-the-box merchandise; and those that sell items on consignment from others. When you're deciding what type of business to launch, chances are you'll choose from one of these six business models. Which leads us to where we are right now. In this and the next five chapters, I'll provide a general overview of these different types of eBay businesseshow they work, their pros and cons, what you can expect from each. I hope these overviews will help you better choose what type of business you want to run.

Note

Obviously, not all businesses fall squarely into a single model. Every business is unique: Some sellers fall into multiple categories, and some sellers conform to models not described here. But these half-dozen business models define the majority of eBay businesses, and thus are worth looking at in depth.