How to Start & Run An eBay Consignment Business
If you sell items on eBay, chances are that friends and family members have asked you to sell an item or two for them. An eBay consignment business gives you the opportunity to provide this service and make money from it. If you do not rent a storefront, you will not have any overhead, as your fees will cover shipping materials and expenses. The biggest investment you make in an eBay consignment business is your time, and you will want to charge accordingly.
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Instructions
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Place an advertisement in your local paper announcing that you will sell items on eBay for people. Put flyers on public bulletin boards and advertise in local on-line venues such as Craigslist, as well.
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Set a timer and go through the process of taking photos for a listing, posting them to eBay and writing the description. Include the time you anticipate spending doing things, such as responding to customer inquiries, packing items and collecting payment. Decide what you want to make per hour for your services. Multiply the amount you wish to make per hour, by the amount of time you spent on the practice listing.
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Factor in the hourly rate you would like to make. If it takes you 30 minutes to post a listing and you want to make $20 an hour, you will need to ensure that you earn a commission of at least $10 for that item.
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Decide what the minimum sales price should be for any item you accept on consignment. If you charge a 30 percent commission, you will need to accept items that you believe will sell for a minimum of $33.00 to make the hourly rate you desire. Round the minimum amount off to $35 or $40 and you will do very well. Raise the amount of your commission to earn even more, if you have a low level of competition. Some sellers will not list an item for less than $50, suggests an eBay member in her article, "9 Steps To Running An eBay Consignment Business."
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Write a standard contract that spells out your fee structure. Include the cost of shipping and shipping materials in your fee structure. Include a paragraph stating your lack of liability for items that did not sell for the amount the seller expected. Write down any pertinent information about the item and the seller on the contract, as well, suggests Auction Bytes.
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Set up a spreadsheet or other system to keep careful track of listing expenses, shipping expenses and income. Analyze the information every month to determine if your price structure needs to be adjusted. Keep a copy of your expenses and income in a folder, for tax purposes.
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Tips & Warnings
Inspect items thoroughly before listing them. Keep the item in your possession until you ship it out. Always ship items yourself so that you will be certain that items are packed correctly and still in the condition that you described in the listing.
References
- Photo Credit antique clock image by dwags from Fotolia.com
