We appreciate your minimalist intentions, but don’t lie to yourself. 

Despite how humble we may seem, living a life of wealth is something we have all dreamed about at one point or another. 

Becoming a millionaire isn’t simple, and obviously, if it was then this writer would not be sitting in my apartment writing this article. There are, however, quantifiable patterns between millionaires. One of the biggest patterns is generating multiple streams of wealth, with nearly two-thirds of millionaires accumulating wealth via three income sources. 

Now that we have your brain pondering what other income streams you may be able to create for yourself, may we offer the simple suggestion: Start an eBay Business. 

The basics

Whether you have items you produce and distribute personally or you are reselling items at a higher cost than what you initially paid, starting an eBay business is easier than ever and the site allows sellers to list 50 items per month without charge. 

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This allows your home selling business to hit the ground running without excessive transaction or service fees and provides a great way to ‘get one’s feet wet.’ 

The fee for an auction-style listing or flat fee listing is just a mere $0.35. Choosing the ‘Business’ Account option instead of the ‘Personal’ Account is necessary if you intend on moving higher quantities of a product; however, this does not mean that you are creating a formalized business. 

Once your side eBay business begins garnering consistent buyers the switch to purchasing an eBay Store is a smart and essentially necessary option if you would like to cut down on those pesky insertion fees and value fees. 

Why waste paying 10% of the item as a value fee when your business is moving product and becoming financially viable? 

Signing up for an eBay store will give your side business cohesive branded listings so that you become a recognized and trusted seller. Your seller brand name will also appear in the URL giving your side business a little extra individualization. 

For your convenience we have provided a breakdown of subscription costs for running your own eBay store as it flourishes and brings you one step closer towards officially being a millionaire: 

eBay subscription costs

Starter

Monthly Subscription Renewal: $7.95

Annual Subscription Renewal: $4.95

Basic

Monthly Subscription Renewal: $27.95

Annual Subscription Renewal: $21.95

Premium 

Monthly Subscription Renewal: $74.95

Annual Subscription Renewal: $59.95

Anchor

Monthly Subscription Renewal: $349.95

Annual Subscription Renewal: $299.95

The higher tiers allow for a greater quantity of free listings and provide your business with tools such as phone and email customer support to keep your business running smoothly. 

In the early days of eBay, many viewed the company’s interface as the wild west of internet resale, and in many ways, this notion was partially accurate.

Horror stories surfaced about buyers being ripped off, sold knock-off items, or flat out not receiving their purchased item. 

Time has been an ally of eBay both from a business perspective and a consumer perception perspective. The company’s support team is available 24/7 and will be there in the off chance during one of those late nights there is a technical glitch in fulfilling orders. 

Marketing

When creating a product listing it’s crucially important to understand that your brand and eBay’s brand are different. If you are a reseller, that means that the product which you are selling can be found within other digital domains. So, to stand out you need a top-notch photo of the product and an excellent product description. 

The best listings feature multiple photos of the product from different angles and use lighting that looks professional. 

When creating the product description, make sure that there are no typos and that you are thinking about the product from the consumer’s point of view (i.e. what will they be using the product for, and what are the benefits of that product over similar products on the market?). 

Pricing

Before you hit the ground running with your eBay business you also need to research your product’s price point within the eBay marketplace. 

If you are consistently selling items for a premium then savvy internet shoppers are unlikely to buy from you; however, this may change in the future as you develop your brand and build a reputation for yourself within the eBay marketplace.  

Before you begin to buy up products left and right, be sure that you can purchase these goods from a source that will allow you to make future purchases for a low price. You don’t want to be pigeonholed or be forced to scramble every time you need new inventory. 

Yes, saving money is great, but if you can only make a one time purchase with that seller then it does not help your eBay business in the long run. 

The best sources are ones in which you know the product will be available to you in the future and one that won’t have large discrepancies on price once you start moving more product on your own. 

Brand niche

Your eBay business will stand a better chance of being financially viable if you create a niche for your business with one product or a group of products that are similar in their function. 

For example, if you find that reselling blenders is lucrative (again, just an example), then focus on selling different brands of blenders and Nutribullet products. 

This allows your business to appear highly knowledgeable within a particular industry and customers will trust that your brand knows the products being sold inside and out. 

All in all the most important thing to remember is that you are in charge of your brand, and eBay is simply a platform allowing you to reach a customer base without spending huge amounts of money on advertising or developing a digital marketplace infrastructure. 

So there you have it, now get that side hustle going and remember to thank this writer when you become a millionaire. Happy $elling.