You have spent your time researching products that sell and wholesale, liquidation or drop-ship sources to obtain them.   Whatever business you have decided upon, you cannot forget that it is a business.  Home based businesses often neglect the value of small business insurance to protect them from both property losses and liability lawsuits.  You shouldn’t neglect this very important aspect of your business.

Notify your current insurance company

Your first step is to notify your personal insurance carrier whether under a homeowner’s or renter’s policy.  It might be possible to add a Home Business endorsement to the policy.  If they say, “No”, don’t despair.  Several companies are able to write home based business policies for less than $1,000 per year, often as low as $500.

Valuing your inventory

Wholesale items are easily valued at invoice, but when liquidation merchandise is being sold, it can be more complicated because the amount you purchased the items for can change drastically every month depending on supply.  As a rule of thumb, you should use the same methods for valuing your inventory for insurance purposes as you do for your bookkeeping.

Liability Insurance

Bodily Injury Liability: If you rent a warehouse or storage unit for your inventory, you should have General Liability insurance to cover any accidents that may happen to third parties on your premises.  This could include the warehouse staff, cleaning crews, your landlord, or delivery people.  Even if you are running your business out of your house, you should carry this insurance.

Products Liability: If you are buying overstock merchandise, you most certainly need Products Liability – you could be held liable for defective merchandise.  Don’t think that the original manufacturer will offer you any assistance.  If you are buying wholesale or drop shipping, request to be added as additional insured to their Products Liability policy.  They should be willing to do so.   If not, consider a different source

Media and Advertiser’s Liability: A common exposure faced by eBay sellers is copyright or trademark infringement, unauthorized use of images or logos, and, heaven forbid, claims of counterfeit merchandise trading.  These exposures do require special coverage that extends beyond even a standard business insurance policy.  To have coverage for these types of claims, you need Media and Advertiser’s Liability insurance. Yes, even one person selling stuff out of their basement can be sued as a publisher, because when you create a page on eBay, which is what you are doing.

Starting an eBay business on a shoestring is hard enough without having to consider yet another expense.  The best course of action in the beginning is prevention: don’t use trademarks, images or logos without permission, be careful what you say about the competition, restrict public access to your premises, and publish solid descriptions and disclaimers of liability on your listings.  As your business grows, you should consider your small business insurance as one of the many expenses of a successful business.

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The Best eBay Marketing Strategy

You have made the choice to start your eBay business along with millions of others and hope you can make enough money to take some nice vacations and possibly leave your job. You found the niche you want to sell products in and now you’re ready to do some marketing. Time is required to obtain a good eBay reputation but planning can reduce the requirement.

Never Done Marketing Before

Marketing is all about getting traffic to your eBay store and auctions so you get the most bids and the best price possible. Brand development through marketing channels is important so buyers feel comfortable when they reach your personally branded store.

Online marketing plans work for stand-alone website as well as eBay stores. EBay can be a launching pad to your own online presence that sells directly to customers without the eBay service assisting you. Keeping your costs to a minimum is the best strategy to increase your profit margins but it might take some investment to get the traffic you need to start your business.

The Steps Needed

Start with Word of Mouth – Tell people you know about your online business by sending them links through email, Twitter, or Facebook. Collect a group of people that are interested in your products and send them a newsletter once a month.

Signature Lines – Create a signature line on your email account so that every email you send will have an image and a link to your store. Create a catchy tag line that you can also make a part of your email signature.

Ask for Feedback – As you sell products on eBay, ask for customer feedback. Your reputation on eBay improves with each positive feedback rating that you obtain. Send out a nice email after your product is shipped to make sure the buyer received the product and approves of its condition. Mention customer feedback to them so they do not forget.

VistaPrint Business Cards – Have business cards developed by an online print company like VistaPrint. Include the business cards in the products that you ship. Hand out the business cards whenever you have an opportunity. And include a business card in letters to companies when paying bills or corresponding.

Customer Rewards – Repeat customers to your store should be rewarded. Develop coupons and offers for clients that return and purchase additional items. Give away shipping or discount shipping for anyone ordering more than one item.

Free Surprises – Include a freebie with each product that you ship. Something small that goes with the product will surprise the customer and make them want to do business with you again. If you can have the gift imprinted with your brand name, logo, and web address, this additional marketing will be extremely inexpensive.

Every step and ideal that you execute will become a part of your overall marketing plan. Increase your marketing budget as your business grows. Don’t rely on just one form of marketing but try new outlets and test the results for best performance. Don’t limit yourself, develop a plan that draws the most attention and traffic to you new eBay store.

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• 5 eBay Selling Tips

5 eBay Selling Tips

It’s not a surprise to many when they hear that eBay is the most important online marketplace. Worldwide access provides markets that seem unlimited to the local the vendor. But it can be difficult to sell products on eBay for a number of reasons. These five tips will help you to be as profitable on eBay as possible.

Everyone is jumping onto to eBay to see if they can make some extra income. Big profits often come with big ticket items like real estate and automobiles. And people are selling everything except for the kitchen sink. How does anyone make a living on eBay and how do you get started?

Research a market.

People have tried to sell everything on eBay but not everything makes money. Following auction results will help you determine if a niche is profitable. The goal is to find the most current niches that are profitable and build from there.

Price right.

To get the attention of buyers you will need to be priced competitively with other sellers of the same goods. Try to offer something of value in addition to the product that makes your auction less of a commodity item. Charging more for shipping can also offset a price discount but still secure the sale.

Good Descriptions.

Make your descriptions as helpful and complete as possible as some buyers may be afraid that sellers, especially new sellers, might not be providing quality items. If you leave out important information bidders will move on to the next auction. Don’t hide anything including the details of a minor flaw that will be discovered when the purchased item is received.

Understand Appropriate Policies.

eBay has a number of policies that you must follow and violating anyone of them can cause difficulty for your new business. The policies are set to protect you and to protect the buyer. You could be banned from the site if you violate the wrong policy or you violate a number of policies during the same period.

Consider Selling Options.

Make sure to understand all the options available when creating an auction on eBay. If you forget specifics about shipping and payment, the bidders are likely to pass or there will be confusion after the auction has closed. Don’t accept checks if at all possible because they might bounce long after you have shipped a product. Know what to do when a successful bidder doesn’t complete the transaction. And investigate the costs of shipping before you list an item. A surprise at the end can take away all profit that you built into the sale.

If you are considering an eBay business, make sure to follow these 5 tips for preparing and running your online auctions. There are many more things to know so continue to research and take a look at some of the programs available here.

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