If you feel E-bay is just for selling novelty items, or a low value trinket type outlet, you should look again. An E-bay business can sell anything from trinkets to antiques all the way to automobiles. Some of the most popular of the thousands of categories are automobiles and auto supplies, consumer electronics, computers, clothes and accessories, books, movies and music.

E-bay was started in 1995 and has become the world's biggest online auction site, selling all kinds of products and services. There is about 1,000 dollars in sales every second. There are 135 million registered users in 32 countries. So you can see how your E-bay business can have a huge exposure.

Before you start an E-bay business you should decide if you want to be a full time business or just a part time hobby. Do you want to work from your home or set up an outside office to work from? Do you want to work on your own or do you want to have employees? Do you want to become a Power Seller or a Trade Assistant?

Actually, it's really difficult to decide all those things in advance. But you can set them up as goals in your business plan. It really is best to start small. This way, you can decide if you like the challenges enough to go further. There will be many disappointments, but look at them as the learning process. Make no mistake about the fact that it's become quite difficult to make big easy profits. So Ok it's easy to start, but you will work hard to find the key to success.

It is a good idea to practice before officially beginning an E-bay business. It's advisable to first do a few purchases of some things you could use around the house. Give feedback after a successful buy. Note the different experiences you will have with each different auction. This could teach you a lot before you begin selling.

Then, you can start selling. Try different headlines and descriptions on a small scale. Practice taking pictures and try different listing formats. Just sell one or two items at a time at first to get comfortable and confident. This should improve your chances of success for when you take your E-bay business to the next level.

Getting set up with an E-bay business just takes a few minutes. You will need to fill an application online, and supply your name, address, telephone number, a credit card and or a checking account. This is used for identification, as well as payment purposes.

When setting up your E-bay business you should also open a PayPal account. This is the largest worldwide payment service. PayPal was purchased by E-bay when they saw how popular the payment system became. It allows people to use credit cards or their checking accounts to pay you, as well as simplifying your purchases. The fees are very reasonable, and it eliminates the need to have a costly merchant account.

When you set up your E-bay business, remember to set up your "About Me" page, which is a free E-bay feature that allows you to promote your business and yourself.

When you start your E-bay business and succeed in making regular sales, you may want to register with Federal, State, and local tax authorities. You also may want to form a corporation or LLC to protect yourself from any legal liability.

By now you should have signed up for at least 6 online newsletters specializing in E-bay and Auctions in general. From these, you will discover sources for finding products to sell, and especially, some drop-shippers.

Your E-bay business should now something to specialize in. This can be the most difficult challenge you will face with your E-bay business. You need to pick something that you know about, has a profit potential, and is not hard to photograph or ship. Before you put something up for sale look to see what similar items sold for and ask, can I make money with this? A key point to remember is that what ever you offer must fill a need. You must do your research for every item you consider selling.

If your E-bay business makes your purchasing task simple and uncomplicated, you have a much better chance of success. In other words, if you find a niche, then specialize. This means your E-bay business should sell like items. If you sell CD's, then having CD racks or players would be a good combination. The more compatible items you have on sale, the better your chances of success. People would much rather purchase what they need from one supplier that they have learned to trust.

After you have gotten comfortable with auction formats, and other aspects of your E-bay business remember not to get complacent. You will want to read about any new features, keep in touch with your customers, and also be aware of what your competition is doing.

Now you're making enough sales to require you to automate. Don't underestimate the value of simplifying your work through automation. And, you must keep growing by learning and changing to better formats. That's the only way to take your E-bay business to its full potential and maximize you're earning potential. Set your goal to becoming a Power-Seller.