Most sellers start buying into the hype before they sell their first item. They have developed a mindset that eBay is a dream business…and they aren't ready for the work.
Not only are they not ready for the work, but they're not ready to learn how to do the work.

The hype says making money on eBay is easy and brainless. It's not.
The hype says drop shipping is innovative and profitable. It's not.
The hype says wholesale sources are gold mines. They're not.

The hype underestimates the work required and overestimates the make-a-lot-of-money-without-a-lot-of-work potential of eBay.
What is the end result? Most eBay sellers don't have the proper mindset and are destined for disappointment. They expect a huge payoff for a small amount of work.
But can you blame them? The hype has drilled into them a mindset that makes it seem easier than it really is. And as a result, eBay sellers are going to war without a weapon…or armor.

Yes…eBay is a good opportunity to make extra money, even in your spare time.
Yes…you don't have to be a big business to generate significant income on eBay.
Yes…selling on eBay is an incredibly flexible, hands-on and fun experience.

No…it's not a get-rich-quick scheme. There is no such thing as a too-good-to-be-true get-rich-scheme that consistently generates significant income. You have to bring your own motivation and willingness to learn and to work. No…it's not easy to master. Anyone can make extra money on eBay at least for a short period of time. But the percentage of eBay sellers who are able to make a living through eBay auctions is under 1%.
You know you want to sell on eBay and you know it's going to take real commitment and motivation. You're already one step ahead of the average eBay seller.
Following is a list of steps that you simply can't avoid if you really want to succeed on eBay. And it all leads up to the #1 most important secret I can possibly give you.
The rest of this book will expand on each of these topics in turn:

Tip #1: You must add significant personal value to your items.
Adding value makes you products unique and it increases your profit margin. You can add personal value in several ways:

 Make ordinary items unique
 Find unutilized niches for products
 Package multiple items into a single, more attractive package
 Offer your own unique knowledge in addition to the product  Or even create your own products
 
Tip #2: You must be the only person selling what you sell.
This very idea sounds crazy when you first hear it, considering there are millions of items on eBay every day. But it's not difficult to do if you find your own, profitable and enjoyable niche to specialize in. What are your hobbies? What are you passionate about? What skills do you have?
You must find your niche. Specializing in a profitable niche will enable you to easily add personal value to your products, hunt for bargains, effectively sell your items and provide world-class service.
 
Tip #3: You must hunt for bargains.
You're going to have to buy products to sell (unless you're creating crafts or informational products). And you have to dig deep to find bargains. You make money when you buy, not when you sell. This is why most eBay sellers fail to make money.
You can't just rely on wholesale guides or drop-shipping sources to find products for you to sell, because those sources are often unreliable and their prices are usually higher than eBay market values.
Most bargains are found offline rather than online. The more you have to dig to find a source, the more profitable it generally is.
Your specialized knowledge in your niche will help you track down bargains for items related to your theme.

Tip #4: You must have web marketing skills to SELL your items.
You don't need a marketing degree to sell on eBay but you do need to learn critical marketing skills to help you write great sales copy. Most eBay sellers don't take the time to analyze their target audience (who they're trying to sell to). But if you do, your sales will increase because your readers will feel that your ad copy is written just for them.
If you specialize, you will have a much easier time of understanding your customer's mindset and needs and it will be much easier to write great ads specifically driven toward your target audience.

Tip #5: You must take great photos of your items.
Pictures can boost your sales, big time. But poor pictures can actually hurt your sales. You need to know how to take pictures that sell and how to get those pictures onto your eBay listings.

Tip #6: You must not rely only on eBay to advertise your items.
The primary benefit of eBay is that it automatically drives targeted traffic to your auctions. But does that mean you should just sit back and let its search engines do their work? No!
If you really want to maximize your profits, you must aggressively advertise your auctions on and off eBay (this does not mean send spam e-mail or unwanted advertisements to anyone. If you ever do anything like that, your reputation and YOU are toast).
Advertise your items for sale in your actual listings, at your eBay About Me page, at websites, newsgroups and message boards related to your theme, in specialty and trade magazines related to your theme, offline if you find targeted sources, etc., etc.
Just because eBay brings in traffic doesn't mean you can't do so much more to increase that traffic.

Tip #7: You must provide world-class customer service.
Your reputation and your level of repeat business are two factors that may ultimately determine if you succeed or fail on eBay. If you offer adequate service, your reputation won't be ruined and you will still get business. But only if you provide tremendous, world-class customer service will your reputation grow, word of mouth start to spread and your repeat customer base explode.
This entails answering questions promptly and thoroughly, completing sales quickly and standing out from the crowd. If you specialize, you can easily offer small extras or incentives that separate you from other eBay sellers. You must be memorable for your sales to really grow.

Tip #8: You must know how to do all of the basic auction tasks.
Contacting customers, collecting payment, packing items, shipping items, navigating eBay, etc. This is all the obvious stuff…and it's what most eBay sellers learn but for some reason they stop there.

Tip #9: And the #1, Can't Miss, Most Critical Strategy Of All…

Diversification = Monetization

You must, must, MUST diversify and develop streams of automated income in addition to the income you generate from your eBay auctions.
The only way to do this is to create your own profitable website. Don't let the thought scare you. Nowadays, you don't need technical skills or computer skills because there are hosts that do all of the "technical stuff" so you can focus on building your business.
 
Your website's purpose is simple. It must provide content related to your niche. People search online for information. They don't search for you. Any successful website follows a simple 4-step process called C-T-P-M, developed by web marketing guru Ken Evoy:
Content. Give your readers what they want by converting your knowledge into high-quality, in-demand content. In other words, you'll write about topics related to your niche that other people want to learn about and will search for (and it's simple to determine what content is in demand).
Traffic. Your in-demand content ranks high at search engines which attracts free, targeted traffic…readers who are interested in your content.
PREsell. You "OVERdeliver" high-value content to these motivated readers, developing trust and confidence (you "PREsell" your readers).
Monetization. FINALLY, you're ready to monetize your warm, willing-to-buy customers. This is when you must diversify. Don't just post a link to your eBay auctions and/or your eBay store.
Take advantage of additional, AUTOMATED monetization models:

 Sell your digital or hard goods to targeted customers
Add targeted Google ads (you get paid for every click)
 Partner with Amazon.com and link to books related to your theme (you get a commission on every item sold)
 Partner with eBay and get paid every time someone signs up from your site or places a bid after clicking on your link
 Monetize automatically through affiliate programs related to your theme. No hard sale pitches or advertising here. Your content sells your readers for you.
 
What it all comes down to is you can't rely on eBay to do the work for you. By diversifying, you will greatly expand your business and increase your profits. And that's how you can make a living on eBay.
 
So many web businesses failed in the late 1990's because they skipped the first three steps and tried to monetize first. And 98% of websites still do it the wrong way today.
But if you follow the C-T-P-M formula, your eBay business will literally be FORCED to thrive.
Doesn't that excite you? The opportunity to make a living on eBay is right in front of you if you're willing to bring your own motivation and willingness to work. It's simple, but it's not easy. Above all, it's very rewarding to succeed doing something you love.
Anyone can make extra money on eBay…but there comes a point where you either stop making money or you are spending every waking hour on your business because there's so much to do.

If you do it the way eBay wants you to do it, when you reach that point, it's lose-lose…you either give up your extra income or you give up your life. That's why you must seize control of your business from eBay and grow it the right way, not the way eBay wants you to.
If you're intrigued by the C-T-P-M formula and excited by Merle's story, section five goes into more detail about how to take control of your business.