In its nearly 11 years of existence, the auction site eBay has come a long way from its early days as a souped-up online flea market. Thanks to its anyone-can-sell business model, and a prevailing philosophy that there's a buyer out there for anything, eBay has become the granddaddy of all auction sites. Countless people have managed to sell an item or two at a profit.
Some people have even managed to make a tidy living by selling stuff on eBay, sacrificing nights and weekends to keep their inventories moving. And some of these so-called PowerSellers do well enough to ask themselves a potentially life-changing question: Is eBay a place where I can get rich?
Some PowerSellers claim that riches can be had, but that it takes an almost-obsessive focus on how the selling is done, what's being sold, and how inventory is managed. In other words, if someone selling $1 geegaws on eBay envisions buying a private island someday, he or she had better keep dreaming. If, however, those widgets are $50,000 each, some snorkeling gear might yet lie in the future.
The PowerSellers of eBay know that what seems to be a straightforward business venture -- you sell, someone buys -- is actually a complex maze of strategies, price controls, feedback, and site policies. Playing all of these elements to one's advantage can make the stock exchange seem like a snap. Whether the payoff from eBay can make a seller rich is another question entirely.
Going Past Gold
First, a little insider information. On eBay, to realize an enormous profit, you almost always need to become a Titanium PowerSeller.
A tiered system designed to reward qualified sellers, the PowerSeller program is by invitation only, and has a number of criteria that must be maintained to keep the designation. At the lowest level, Bronze, a PowerSeller must average at least $1,000 in sales per month for three consecutive months; have an account in good standing; and get an overall feedback rating of 100, with at least 98 percent of the comments marked as positive.
Just like credit cards, the more precious the metal, the higher the status. Bronze is followed by Silver ($3,000 in sales per month) and Gold ($10,000). The PowerSeller program makes a big jump at Platinum ($25,000), but that's a minor hop compared to the gulf between Platinum and Titanium. That top-tier designation requires $150,000 per month in sales, and sellers must maintain that level, as well as a 98 percent positive-feedback rating, to keep it. (continued...)
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