How to Start an eBay Business Why now could be the perfect time to jump on the eBay-business bandwagon.

A recent study found that 724,000 people make a full-time or part-time living selling on eBay. As more people turn to eBay to generate income from online sales, the number of buyers flocking to the site has also increased. Today, merchandise on eBay is selling at a rate of nearly $85,000 every minute. In addition to individual entrepreneurs who dedicate themselves to building successful eBay businesses, companies have turned to the site with plans of their own. Smart business owners have come to realize that creating a sales channel on eBay can dramatically increase their revenues and their customer base. eBay is driving this success by bringing powerful online tools to the marketplace, including Craigslist, PayPal, ProStores, Shopping.com, Skype and VeriSign.

Starting a business on eBay is a natural progression for most people who come to the site. They tend to start as buyers, get hooked, learn to sell and then find out that, by fulfilling their goal of clearing out their house and selling their belongings on eBay, they are suddenly making money as well. eBay PowerSellers Ty and Richelle Tribble (eBay User ID: freebubba) are full-time eBay entrepreneurs from Federal Way, Washington. What began as a part-time homebased business has turned into a thriving company with several employees.

"In 2002, my wife began selling stuff from around our house on eBay," says Ty. "One night, I was looking over her shoulder and said, 'You sold that item for that much money?'" Later that month, the couple put together a business plan with eBay at the center of their business model.