URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/ebaycenter/growingandmanaging/article72806.html

Setting Up for Business

Q: I am eager to start selling on eBay. I have always dreamed of running my own business, but I'm new at this. How do I set up my new business on eBay so that I'm in full compliance with the overwhelming number of rules and laws that apply to businesses?

A: Here, in rough but not exact order, are some steps to help you set up your business on eBay the right way the first time. You should keep in mind that these steps do not go into great detail; they are intended as a guide only.

• Decide your business's purpose. Ask yourself, "What will I sell? Why do I want to start a business? How much does my business need to gross to make it worthwhile?"
• Using the answers from the above questions, write a business plan. Consult with a business or tax attorney or some other authorized expert to help you with your plan and to make sure you are following all the proper procedures for starting a business in your location, including any local or state requirements.
• Research eBay to find other sellers who are offering products similar to yours. Figure out what the more successful sellers are doing right and what the less successful sellers are doing wrong. Later, you can emulate the best practices and avoid the bad ones like the plague!
• Start hunting for reliable, affordable sources of your particular product(s). It's never too early to start shopping.

Q: What steps do I need to take to start selling my products on eBay?

A: There are several steps involved:

• Find a location for your business. For most new eBay sellers, this means a homebased business, at least initially.
• Create a mailing address for your business using either your business's actual physical location or a P.O. Box. It's important to use this address for your online registrations both at eBay and PayPal (an eBay service that enables businesses to receive and send online payments through a credit card or bank account).
• Open a business checking account, preferably one that offers a debit card. Limit the use of this account to only your business on eBay, both buying and selling.
• Apply for a business credit card.
• Create a new e-mail address that you will use only for your business on eBay.
• Create an eBay registration using this e-mail address. (To avoid unintentional trademark infringements, don't use eBay in your User ID.)
• Open a Seller's Account for this registration. Click the "Sell" link at the top of any eBay page, and follow the instructions from there.
• Open a PayPal Account using your new business e-mail address.
• Upgrade your PayPal Account to either Premier level (doing business in your own name) or Business level (doing business as . . .).
• Add your business checking account to your PayPal Account and follow the instructions to confirm the account.
• Go to "My eBay," "My Account," "eBay Preferences" and "Seller Preferences," and make sure your Payment Preferences are all set to display and offer PayPal on all listings. Check that shipping preferences are set to "yes" for "Offer combined payment discounts."

Q: How do the Personal, Premier and Business Accounts from PayPal differ?

A: With a Personal Account, you can:

• Send money for free.
• Receive money for free (non-credit-card payments only).
• Upgrade to a Premier Account at any time.

With a Premier Account, you can:

• Send money for free.
• Receive any type of payment, including credit cards, for low fees.
• Access an exclusive customer service hotline seven days a week.
• Use special tools for sellers.
• Apply for an ATM debit card, which you can use to either purchase items or services or to access money in your PayPal Account at any ATM.

With a Business Account, you can:

• Use all the features of a Premier Account.
• Do business under a corporate or group name.
• Have multiple logins.

Q: I have a Personal Account from PayPal. I want to use PayPal for my new business on eBay, but the Personal Account level limits the types of payments I can receive (no credit cards), and there is a limit to the amount I can receive per month. How do I upgrade my PayPal Account to Premier or Business level?

A: To upgrade your account, follow these steps:

• Log in to your PayPal Personal Account.
• Click the link for "Upgrade Account," which can be found under the "Enhance Account" section in the left-hand column.
• Follow the instructions from there.

Q: What is a Seller's Account? Do I need one to sell on eBay? How do I create one?

A: A Seller's Account is a necessary component every eBay member must add to his or her existing eBay registration in order to use that registration to sell on eBay. Creating one is easy. You need to register first (or have registered previously) and have on hand your eBay User ID and password, a credit or debit card, and a check from your checking account. Next:

• Click the "Sell" link at the top of any eBay page.
• Sign in, if necessary.
• Follow the instructions from there.

Q: Can I register on eBay using my business's name?

A: At this time, a registration can only be made using a person's first and last name. Make sure that the address you supply during the registration process is the same as the billing address for one of your currently held credit or debit cards. This will make it easier when you add a Seller's Account to your eBay registration.

Q: Should I determine a fixed shipping rate for my items or use the shipping calculator?

A: Most buyers want to know in advance what they will have to pay for domestic shipping, so it's always a good idea to include that information in your listings. Here are some guidelines on whether you should use a fixed shipping rate or the eBay Shipping Calculator, which you can add to your listing during the Sell Your Item listing process.

For items weighing approximately 4 pounds or less (set shipping costs):

• Purchase a postal scale.
• Pack the item.
• Weigh the package.
• Select a carrier, and visit its Web site to determine the "worst case" costs for domestic and international shipping.
• Mark these costs as flat shipping rates within your description.

For items weighing more than 4 pounds (calculated shipping costs):

• Purchase a postal scale.
• Pack the item.
• Weigh the package.
• Include the weight in your item description.
• Opt for the eBay Shipping Calculator during the Sell Your Item process.

Now U.S. buyers can calculate their shipping before they bid or purchase. (You will still need to include a "worst case" flat shipping rate for international buyers, since the eBay Shipping Calculator is only for domestic shipping.)

Q: How can I ship my items more efficiently?

A: Postage and shipping labels can now be printed online. You can eliminate trips to carrier locations by buying U.S. Postal Service labels with postage and/or UPS shipping labels on eBay.

Simply pay for them with your PayPal Account and print them on your printer-all in just a matter of seconds. Once the label is on the package, you can arrange to have it picked up at your location. To learn more about this topic, click on "Services" at the top of any eBay page, and under "Selling Reference," click on "Shipping Center."

Q: Where do I find products to sell on eBay?

A: Unfortunately, most sellers keep their product sources a closely guarded secret. Still, there are some good places to start.

Some eBay sellers find initial sources of good merchandise at local store discount or closeout sales, as well as at liquidation auctions and sales. Consult your local newspaper for more information on potential sources in your neighborhood.

You can also find wholesale lots on eBay. Go directly to any category, and look for a subcategory for "wholesale lots." You can find the entire list of eBay wholesale categories by going to the eBay home page and scrolling down to the last category in the list of categories located on the left-hand side of the page.

Some sellers have found a product source by contacting a manufacturer's sales department directly and arranging for bulk purchase of merchandise for resale on eBay. But remember, no matter what product source you decide to use, it's very important to sell something you know about and preferably are passionate about.

See "May the Source Be With You," for more tips on product sourcing.

Q: How can I determine the hottest items or categories on eBay?

A: There are many ways of viewing, searching and sorting eBay listings to view those with the most activity and the highest bid amounts. Within any given eBay category, you can sort the category list by highest price first to view those with the highest prices. You can then scroll through the list to see the items with the highest number of bids, a good indicator of an item's desirability. It is not possible, however, to sort by number of bids.

You can also filter a search or category to show only Completed Items (items that have sold within the past two weeks), and then scan those for the number of bids and highest bid amounts.

To view Completed Items using a keyword search of the entire eBay site:

• Click on the "Search" link found at the top of any eBay page.
• Click on the "Advanced Search" tab.
• Enter your keywords.
• Check the box for Completed Items.

To view Completed Items using a keyword search of a single category:

• Navigate to the first page of the chosen category.
• Enter keywords into the box provided.
• Check the box for Completed Items, found on the left-hand side of the page.
• Click the "Show Items" button.

If you want to view all Completed Items for a particular category:

• Go to the category's first page of listings.
• On the search results page, check the box for Completed Listings under the "Search Options" section on the left.
• Click the "Show Items" box.

eBay has made this even easier by compiling a Hot List for sellers. Simply log on to www.ebay.com/sellercentral and click on "What's Hot" from the menu on the left.

For more information on keeping up with product trends, turn to "Bestseller Lists."

Growing Your Business

Q: What is an eBay Store? Should I start off with one right away?

A: eBay Stores provides you with your own e-commerce destination where you can list all your eBay inventory in one place under a brand name of your own. eBay Stores is the best way to help serious sellers maximize their businesses on eBay. If you have your own eBay Store, you get to use powerful and easy-to-use tools that allow you to successfully build your own brand on eBay and encourage repeat customers.

If you're a brand-new eBay seller, you should first familiarize yourself with the regular eBay site before you consider opening your own eBay Store. However, eBay Stores can be a perfect solution for businesses that carry large inventories. To learn more, visit http://stores.ebay.com, and click on the "Stores Help for Sellers" link.

Get additional information about eBay Stores in our "Way to Grow" feature.

Q: Will I need any listing-management tools to help me with selling on eBay?

A: Initially, probably not. But as your business on eBay grows, you may need to employ software or tools to help eliminate the repetitive tasks that come with listing on eBay. For the brand-new eBay seller, the built-in, free tools that come with My eBay are usually sufficient for listing and managing 10 to 20 items per day.

Once your business volume starts to increase beyond 20 items per day, you should sample some of the other tools that eBay offers, such as Turbo Lister, a free bulk uploading tool; eBay's Selling Manager (Basic or Pro), which adds enhanced features to the Selling page in My eBay; or Selling Assistant (Basic or Pro), which features a full suite of listing management tools.

For more information on software or eBay Listing Tools:

• Click on "Services" at the top of any eBay page.
• Look for the section marked "Listing Solutions," and click on "Seller Tools."
• Other software: Under "Listing Solutions," click on "eBay Solutions Directory."

To read more about software to help with your business on eBay, see "Easy Does It" in our "Tools" section.

Q: How do I offer my listings to buyers outside of the United States?

A: Listing items so that buyers in other countries can see them is easy. Simply use the "Sell Your Item" form (access it by clicking on the "Sell" link at the top of any eBay page) as you normally would. But in the "Ship-To Locations" field of the "Shipping & Payment Terms" section of the form, specify either: "Will ship worldwide" (for maximum buyer audience reach) or "Will ship to the United States and the following" (then select the countries/regions from the list to which you are willing to ship). The latter provides a larger reach than domestic only, but with less complexity than full international trading.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith is author of The Official eBay Bible and dean of eBay Education.