Need advice on a basic business idea

[nsuvarna]

Hey guys,

I am a college student and my business idea is rather simple. I intend to handle all ebay and other online auction orders for my local college clients ie. post their items online in a professional manner and handle all their sales etc for a small percentage of their earnings. I did this previously for two people on my floor for free and feel that the idea might have some potential. However, I would appreciate any feedback on this idea. This is my first attempt at anything of this sort so i dont even have a clue on how to approach this issue> any advice would be fantastic.

thanks
sean

[DavidHWalker]

hey sean,

I think it's a good idea. I don't think we have anything like that at my school, but if there was, I would definitely take advantage of it. I've got a box of things i'm planning to ebay, but I never get around to it simply because I don't want to hassle with it. I would happily pay someone a small percentage to sell it for me.

Some things you might want to look out for:

1. really low priced items that aren't worth the time
2. lower than expected selling prices (might upset customers)
3. people not trusting you with their things.

i'm sure there are some other pitfalls, but if you can address these, I would think that's a step in the right direction. best of luck!

david

[Karen]

Your idea can be very profitable, if marketed correctly.

In this area, there are several companies that are doing this and are receiving great feedback.

I also think Eric (here on the forum) was doing this for a while, and may possibly still doing it.

Karen

[Jacqueline]

You got to have a proper plan for it. Categorize ur plan properly and have it printed out. then you'll have a business proposal. once you have it, everything will be systematic.

[mohney]

This idea has some ramifications you may not be thinking of.

What you did for your couple friends wasn't against any laws or regulations, but if you were to start a business doing that sort of stuff from your dorm room, your school would have claim to any profits you made through using their internet source to connect to ebay, etc.

You should look very closely at your school's intellectual property statement/agreement. It's very precise and should tell you everything you need to know.

Thanks,
Sean Mahoney
AndPlus Design, LLC

[devanium]

You shouldn't run into any problems with the school or anything in my opinion, but don't expect the business to grow into a national one or anything - the idea has been done before (E-Bay Dropoff Zones).

[Bscivolette]

This whole let us sell it on Ebay thing is getting way out of hand. At first there was a niche for it, small percentage of consumers who 1 didnt have time or 2 didnt know how. Nowadays there are hundreds of sites where you can list items for free and sell them just as easily and people are becoming more and more internet savvy. My suggestion, instead of capitalizing on a boom and bust concept such as listing, selling, and then handling sales for friends in the dorm...find another niche with Ebay. They are certainly here to stay and buying up as much online real estate as possible (Paypal, rent.com, etc.) and Ebay is assumed to be making $1000 per second. There are plenty of other niche's in the Ebay market...open your eyes and look outside the norm and I am sure you will find what I am talking about. Best of luck!

[evolvingentrepreneur]

Great, great idea!

1 - start by getting some simple business cards and flyers printed up to hand out and leave around campus

2 - work with a high degree of professionalism and quality

3 - continuously expand your knowledge of business and marketing

Contact me through my blog at www.evolvingentrepreneur.blogspot.com for more direction.

[Aletheides]

There's many people just like you. Ebay even has a section dedicated to it:

http://pages.ebay.com/tradingassistants/

The normal going rate is 20% of sale price. I haven't seen many sellers in the 15-19% range.

[NDentrepreneur]

Sean,

My advice to you, is that since this is your first attempt at anything like this, to do a simple market test. Hand out surveys throughout your dorm and the school that are a few questions long that would take like 1 minute to complete. Ask people if they have stuff they need to sell, if they’d be willing to pay someone to sell it for them and how much they’d be willing to pay. Doing something like this will give you an idea of whether or not there’s a market and if it will be worth your time in terms of how much people will pay you. If you get good results on the test, I say go for it. The sooner you start your own business the better. Just make sure you take simple steps like this so you don’t invest a ton of time in something that has no market or a poor return on the amount of time you spend on it.

Best of luck to you,



Pat Argentieri