The answer may not be obvious to all, however, when you think about various auction sites, which of the following names do you think is most popular?
If you picked eBay, its probably because that’s what most people think about when they are considering selling something online. And for good reason! eBay is one of the most popular shopping areas on the internet with millions of registered users all over the world. In 2004, eBay had revenues of around $3.2 billion dollars. Between $7 - $8 Billion is run through eBay's platform every quarter. What was founded in 1995 as a hobby website has grown to a multi-billion dollar website. Talk about your niche markets! Every hour eBay registers 3,000 - 4,000 new users. More than 724,000 people report that eBay is their primary or secondary source of income and another 1.5 million say eBay is a supplemental source of income.
When one is thinking about starting a business, the primary rules for success are Location, Location, Location. If you’re doing business on eBay, you’re tapping into not only the most popular marketplace on the planet, but one that demands, and has the attention of millions of shoppers. There is no better location anywhere to sell your goods and services for incredibly reasonable rates. When you add in the convenience of PayPal, BidPay, the search tools, and the flexibility of how you can put together your auctions and business, there really is no comparable alternative that makes good business sense.
Yahoo Auctions and uBid are other alternatives, but they just don’t have the notoriety of eBay. Now you may be thinking there are other online shopping sites that are very popular such as SuperPawn.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BizRate.com, and even the BassPro Shop. Certainly you can buy and sell items on Amazon.com, but the other options are large organizations who buy in thousand lot quantities to get you the lowest prices. There ‘is’ potential for your business to be large, but lets take it a step at a time and work on what we can get our arms around today.
When you really think about it, it all comes down to flexibility, cost, and potential business success. No other internet location offers the opportunities for success that eBay does. No other internet marketplace will provide you with the continuous exposure and stream of customers that eBay does each and every day (and night) of the year. I’ve shopped for antique clocks listed by German sellers at 2:00 AM. I’ve visited eBay auctions in Holland, England, Italy. Where else can you go to see, buy and sell with such a worldwide focus?
eBay’s success is not in what they sell, but in what you and I buy and sell. It’s a marketplace with over $30 Billion dollars worth of goods changing hands every year. The big numbers should not be viewed as competition, but rather, your opportunity for success.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!