Selling on eBay is a great opportunity for any eCommerce entrepreneur, but making a steady, livable income there isn't just a matter of throwing a few products up for auction. In fact, of the more than 200 million registered eBay users, only a little over a million make a part- or full-time living there.



What separates this group from the masses of recreational eBayers? The difference, according to eBay veteran Sydney Johnston, founder of http://Auction-Genius-Course.com, is that this small percentage of sellers have developed profitable selling strategies to help them harness the power of the Internet's busiest traffic machine. She shares four of these proven strategies that have helped many of her students reach, and exceed, their eBay goals:

1. Do your product sourcing in the right order.

The biggest question new sellers have is, ?What should I sell?? But they often begin their research process backwards, looking first for good product niches, then for suppliers. Unfortunately, they can't always locate suppliers for their products, so they waste hours and days gathering information they can't use.

First, find your product suppliers. The most basic technique is to call the manufacturer, tell them you're a retailer looking to carry their products, and ask for a list of their authorized wholesalers. You can also find potential suppliers through trade shows, trade publications, and trade organizations. Once you know which products you can get suppliers for, then begin researching those product markets, using a market research tool like Terapeak or HammerTap.

2. Put your research results into practice.

It's easy to get caught in ?paralysis by analysis.? Many new sellers agonize over taking action for endless weeks, months, and years. Advises Johnston, ?Knowledge without action is useless. If you've done your research, found a supplier and a promising product niche, then take that next step and do what your research is telling you.?

3. Start small and scale up as you gain experience.

Sometimes, brand new sellers are eager to sink their savings into a liquidation lot or a container load of imports. The problem is, they don't know the first thing about what they're getting, and they often end up losing their money and giving up on eCommerce all together.

The best way to minimize your risk is to start small. You might use drop shipping to test a product without investing any funds in inventory. If it proves successful, you can move up to buying in light bulk quantities, for a better price-per-piece. Then, if you find it's still a strong, consistent seller, you can buy in even greater volume, to further increase your profit margins.

4. Take advantage of the eBay store.

If you sell on eBay, you need to capitalize on the benefits an eBay store offers. The listing fees are substantially cheaper than with auctions. And you have a place to send the search engines (whereas your auction listings only last ten days, max). Your customers, who came in for one item, can view and purchase many. And you gain the ability to send newsletters, telling buyers what promotions you're running and what new products you're carrying.

While implementing these practices can help you increase your selling success on eBay, Johnston insists that the most successful sellers aren't the ones who get everything right ? they're the ones who refuse to quit. Choose to learn from your feedback, your customers, and your experiences ? good and bad ? and just keep going. States Johnston, ?There really are no failures ? only learning opportunities. If you refuse to quit, you will succeed. Period.?