If you have ever begun reading the guides on this site, purchased any of the infamous "Powerseller" eBook, or read any articles on how to grow your eBay business, you have heard the usual ideas: Estate Sales, Wholesaling, Drop Shipping. But don't you think if you have read those ideas that thousands (or more) of other people have read and are trying the same things??

Here are some NEW marketing ideas that you can use to grow your eBay business.

1) Offer an assistance service to buyers. There are a ton of eBay drop-off stores and trading assistants out there. But how many people are out there to help buyers find a unique items? For example, you find an elderly client who doesn't know how to (or is scared of) the internet or eBay. They are looking for a certain item, whether that be an antique watch, a Lionel item, or even a car. You sign them up as your client. We have our buyers sign a contract and give us a small retainer fee to conduct the search. Get definite perameters and price ranges. You conduct key word searches, browse the applicable categories, and even set up favorite searches for your clients under your eBay user ID. Once you find and win the item(s), collect the payment from the buyer (remember, you had them sign a contract) and remit it to the seller of the item. Or purchase the item yourself and sell it to your client. You can then take a flat commision percent from your client for finding the item. Getting paid to search on eBay!? Sounds great!

2) Be proactive in your marketing. Don't just go to estate sales and don't wait for the business to come to you. Call a small business that is closing and see if you can act as a liquidator for their merchandise. Scout the classified ads or Autotrader to find vehicles for sale. Contact the seller to see if you can help them sell the car for a retainer and percentage commision if it sells. Even a 10% fee for you on a $5000 car is $500!

3) Search eBay for misspelled or underdescribed items. You might know about this one already, but you don't need to purchase an eBook or buy software to do it. Think about what you collect. For example, I collect and sell model trains. I have a pretty good idea of what items should go for. So I search my categories and find items that are selling for less than they should. Maybe the seller didn't list the item in the correct category. Maybe they didn't list the manufacturer in the auction title. Maybe they don't accept Paypal or have some crazy auction language that is scaring away the buyer. Either way, buy the item for less than you know it will sell for. List it correctly, in the correct category, with a good auction terms, and watch the money roll in!

4) Buy large, under-described lots of items. For example, I have purchased items described as "Large Lot of Train Stuff". The actual item description doesn't have any detail and all the seller has is a picture of the whole lot. I use the picture to evaluate what is in the lot and the value of each piece. If the value of the each piece indiviudally is higher than the selling price of the lot, I can part out each piece and make a profit. For example, I recently purchased a lot of 4 N Scale train items. The description was: Lot of 4 XXX Train cars. There was no other detail in the title, so not too many people viewed item. I won all the lot for $10. I then parted out the cars, keeping two for my own collection, and put a strong title on the other two cars, which I listed individually. I sold one for $12.50 and the other for $13.

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