Question
Hello there. My name is Mike Eidson, (surmike)...a user name I've used for online surveys.I've been online since 2000'. Am a total newbie to auctions, eBay, Ecommerce, etc.
I work part-time now, and am searching for advice to start an online business to help support my acupuncture practice start-up this Summer. Prefer to drop ship rather than search auctions, flea markets, yard sales, etc. Even an extra $400.00/mo. would help my practice get rolling.
Would I be better off selling through eBay or selling directly from my own website, drawing from drop shipping sources? I read some posts somewhere where eBay and Paypal fees are getting sort of steep and customer service issues also. Couldn't I avoid future fee and customer service problems by avoiding eBay and Paypal and just sell through my own site?
Thanks for any advice.
Mike Eidson
Answer
Hello, Mike, and welcom to here.
There's pleanty of threads here filled with information to assist you.
As to eBay or your own personal website, there's pro's and con's to each.
Only YOU can make that decision.
Answer
I'll step out on a limb and say you should sell on eBay. Everybody knows eBay, so it is the easiest way to get started.
Step two could be selling from other auction sites to support what you have on eBay. Maybe step three is building your own site to enhance your eBay stores. The final step would be to build your own site.
eBay raised fees because they have so little competition and, therefore, could get away with it. On Black Friday, eBay had 26% market share in visits versus 3% for the next most popular auction site, Amazon.
Yes, it's true that your situation may be different and I don't know enough about you to say eBay is the only way to go. BUT, for 99% of people, eBay is the easiest, most secure start.
Hope this is helpful.
Answer
Thanks for replying Mr.Original. I'll be studying "Online Business for Dummies" and Chris Malta's free e-book as I have the time available. Well, at least so far Ebay has given good answers to two of my querys.
Later,
surmike