Cyberspace Boot Sales

Lots of people talk to me about starting their own business.  Some of them are obviously just ‘talking the talk ‘ and have no intention of getting round to it.  I call these people the superglue entrepreneurs – they stand on the top diving board saying they are about to take the plunge when in fact something, probably risk aversion, has super glued their feet to the board.  The second type of would-be entrepreneur complains that they would start off on their own if they just had a little bit of capital.  To them I always say “You could have at least £500 in capital in two to three days.  Just sell some assets.”
I’m not talking about the family silver here I’m talking about the stuff in the attic, the presents you didn’t want and other detritus that you never got round to throwing away.  And it’s easier now.  Selling your unwanted stuff no longer needs to involve car-boot sales – use the internet and you can get more customers and better prices.
There are two routes into online selling. Firstly you might just want to declutter your home a bit and raise £500 as a grubstake for your new business. (Incidentally, the glory of offloading your second-hand goods and chattels is that any income you make is almost certainly tax-free.) Alternatively, you might want to consider setting up a fully-fledged online business. For many people who have taken this route, their business is based around a hobby or passion.  A mate of mine is a fishing  fanatic and started a business selling on the Internet his old Fly Fishing equipment along with anything  that he picks up at car boot sales and junk shops – his work is his hobby.

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Tip from Shaf – Be persistent
Keep your auction going. Many eBay bidders wait until the very last minute to place a bid, which means you may be missing out on additional bids if, as can be very tempting, you end your auction early.

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Studying eBay selling is fascinating.  Did you know that the final price of an item sold on eBay depends on factors that have nothing to do with its book value?   For example, items sold at a weekend command a price around 2 per cent higher than the same item sold on a weekday. Items with pictures typically sell for around 11 per cent more than similar items without pictures. A seller’s eBay ‘feedback score’ also has an effect: high-rated sellers typically achieved around 7 per cent better prices than low-rated ones – an encouragement to fair dealing.
 If you do get serious about it, Internet auctions are creating entirely new businesses. Here’s one to try: set up a drop-off service where busy people and computerphobes can leave their unwanted items. Then auction them on eBay for a cut of the proceeds. A chap called Randy Adams set up just such a business in the San Francisco area. His first AuctionDrop store opened in March 2003 and by the end of December he had sold $1.6m of goods and it’s still going strong.

But be careful.  I must just to point out that a bit of success in eBay selling your old stuff does not make you an expert in buying and selling everything under the sun.  If you venture into antiques or, art for example, without knowing a bit about it you’ll get stuffed.  A friend of mine has a pal who is pretty much addicted to buying and selling at auction.  He’s ending up with a whole load of stuff he can’t sell, or at least not at a profit.

Lack of capital is a lousy excuse for not starting your own business.  Sit down and work out how much you need and how to get it.
 
 If you do decide to become a professional ebayer after clearing out your loft or garage and are looking for a wholesale supplier of goods here is one I would whole hearted recommend www.estock.co.uk . I am biased though as I am an investor in this business.