Some of the errors are quite common even with experienced eBay retailers. You have to learn to avoid them if you want to get high close rates and thus better final prices.

Here are 5 most common eBay mistakes:

1. A bad title.

In order to make up a good and relevant title, you’d better look at the keywords other sellers use. Try to use all the possible relevant keywords – make use of the 55 character provided by eBay. Don’t pay attention to the punctuation and irrelevant keywords that are aimed at attracting users’ attention.

2. The Wrong Price

Have a look at the completed items to find the best appropriate initial price for the item. If you start too high you are likely to lose part of the clients immediately.

3. Inaccurate or Vague description

Don’t fail to include the features as:

• Size
• Condition
• Markings
• Age
• History

Otherwise you will get dozens of email inquiries. Buyers trust honest and straight sellers

4. Bad or No Images

Make photos of the items on the right background. Lynn Dralle, of TheQueenOfAuctions.com, says:

“Keep your environment out of it. It makes your auctions look more professional.”

5. The wrong time for the auction

Both the time of the day and the season of the year affect your eBay performance.

Dralle explains:

“At the base of all these mistakes is research. You’ve got to do your research.”

Do your best to research the completed items and make use of Marketplace Research. Moreover, you can study your competitors’ ideas and success stories. Moreover, there are third-party web-services (like Terapeak.com or HammerTapNow.com) that can help you find the right ways to list the items you sell.

Once you know the major eBay strategies you have to make sure that your supply of products is not drained. That’s what dropshiparea is here for. We do our best to supply you with the best and most reliable wholesale and retail suppliers. You can find them in our directory.

Being an online retailer requires a good command of the industry, the insights of it. But where can one learn about that stuff? One of the best solutions is reading industry publications. This source can help you learn how to market the products and make up the product lines according to your customers’ requirements.

Some words about Trade publications

First of all, what’s a trade publication? According to Lisa Suttora (WhatDoISell.com), it is:

“A trade publication is a magazine, newspaper, or even email newsletter that is written specifically for industry insiders.”

A trade magazine supplies you with a great amount of extremely important information:

• Product lines that are being sold
• The ways of successful marketing of the products you are dealing in
• Reports on what is selling good at the moment and what is likely to be popular in the near future
• All the upcoming industry events
• Contact Information of suppliers (as you already know this information as well as the choice of the right wholesale suppliers can be crucial for you business)
• The new products the manufacturers are likely to come up with
• All the latest trends and tendencies in the industry

Rely on your knowledge

No matter what industry you are into, each has its own publications which are as a rule available only to subscribers. Some of these subscriptions come for free, others cost money. But even if you pay a monthly fee you can still save a lot of money by learning from others’ mistakes instead of doing your own ones. In order to find these industry publications you can run a Google search under “trade publication” or “trade magazine.”

Does it really give me a competitive edge?

Of course if does! Reading such publications ones gains valuable knowledge on the structure of his business and his/her sourcing choices become more conscious than blind. You can learn all the latest trends beforehand and thus have a competitive edge over your competitors.

Perfect Product Sourcing

Trade publications help you make the product lines more versatile. The give you a clue on how to make the selling strategies and tactics more effective.

Suttora continues:

“You’ve got to look at all the ideas available for different kinds of products to sell. You can’t do that in a vacuum—you need a system to help you have creative ideas.”

When you are on the edge of opening an eBiz or already have one, you still have to keep in mind that it is a real business and the approach to it must be a proper one. You have to make sure all the legal formalities are carried out. Consider all the legal issues in order not to lose money in case of emergency.

Do I Need to Charge Taxes Online?

Taxes issues

When you own an eBiz you have to keep current on taxes that are connected to your activities. As you are a retailer you have to be aware of the payments of state sales taxes.

Jim Reed, www.tetontax.com, comments:

“The collection of sales tax for items sold over the internet is only required if the business has a physical presence in that state.”

To cut the long story short according to Jim if you sale a product to a customer from a different state you need to charge this customer the sales tax.

Besides taking extra money from customers (as taxes) you are responsible for delivering this money to the government. As a rule in the majority of states you have to fill out a tax return.

Reed continues:

“You’re required to fill that out, whether you have sales or not, once you obtain a sales tax license. Each state has its own sales tax form to be completed, signed, and filed, and the tax remitted, based on what taxes have been collected during that period.”

Some thoughts on the structuring of eBiz

In order to make your eBiz legally proper you need to give a careful thinking on how to structure it. There are a number of type of eBiz structure:

1. Sole Proprietorships

This type of business is usually set up by eBiz owners who want to avoid the costs of incorporating. At the same time this type of business makes you property vulnerable in a lawsuit.

2.Corporation or an LLC

Remember that the major advantage of a corporation is getting your property insured. In case your company is used only the belongings of the corporation are at risk. The fees associated with setting up a corporation or an LLC are fairly minimal

To conclude: no matter what type of property you decide on, take your time to consult a CPA and an attorney in order to be sure that you are legally squared away and find out what scheme is the most effective in your case.