Launching an eBay Agent business...

paulwf

Two problems I can see:

- if you are selling through your account you are in the middle if something goes wrong i.e. the item gets lost in the post, is broken, not as described, description is poor so selling price is low, is stolen goods etc. Suppose it is lost in the post, the buyer will claim a refund through paypal and the person you are selling for will want their money back leaving you out of pocket.

- unless it is a book or cd a lot of items you will sell will require 10-15 minutes to write a decent description and photo. Realistically you'll be spending 20-25 minutes per item by the time you include answering questions, packing and interacting with the seller. You'll have to go high end unless you go the opposite direction and just take a quick pic and no description...but then why would anyone use an agent?

Even if you do find a way to make money I don't think it is sustainable long term as more and more people have ebay and paypal accounts.

paulwf

Just to add...

A search for ebay drop shops turns up very little that is active. However I did find one and viewed their ebay feedback and from that calculated they made about £20 a day in the last month...that doesn't pay for staff let alone premises. Ebay feedback will basically give you all the financial research you need as long as you know their rough commission levels.

Perhaps it could work if you had a niche, the product was valuable and you could add value. Just as a random example if someone had an old piano you could clean it and tune it, list it on an account dedicated to second hand pianos in verified working state and had discounted rates from shippers of bulky goods.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

plus if you are selling via a b.i.n price you will have to comply with the long distance seeling rules..

I would also be very wary about selling electrical goods, who would do the pat test on them before you sold them?

I know most of the responses might sound negative, but they are good constructive points...

I think if it was me.... i would just hunt hte boot sales, auctions and charity shops etc.... for items to sell.

I would also do loads of research to find out what sells, and find out a rough guide line price they have been going for...

I have spent many an hour just trawling through various catagories that i wouldnt normally look at, just give me a bit of a guide...