Is this a good busioness to be in?

dalexdalex subscriber Posts: 4
edited July 2006 in Selecting a Business
I am really thinking about opening up an online shop featuring antique and collectible toys. I am thinking about marketing most of my traffic through ebay and primarly selling through ebay.
My question is this a good business to be in?
Thanks.
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Comments

  • iouone2iouone2 subscriber Posts: 14
    I think you will find eBay a good place for this type of thing. I do know several people that look for hard to find, or antique items on the Internet. My concern it the fees for eBay.Has anyone noticed how expensive the fees are getting? By the way, I don`t sell my store items on eBay, but I do sell personal items... like my car! (Auction # 150007487977)I might start with eBay, but I think I would also look into other sites to sell from incase eBay breaks the bank.But your thoughts... Yes, I do think it`s a good biz. (just an opinion of course).
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  • RojgieanRojgiean subscriber Posts: 0
    eBay is a good place to set this type of business up.  Just beware the fees!  If you are planning on having a larger selection, it is sometimes more useful to set up a "eBay Store", where you pay $29.95 a month, and avoid a lot of the listing fees.
    I am currently on eBay, but I don`t tend to do much with it.  I have thought about using it to open a store, but am still working on crunching some of the numbers to see how useful it would be with the concept I have.  It`s amazing how many people are CONSTANTLY buying things via eBay... in fact, according to the last numbers I`ve seen, eBay is the second to third most used commerce suite online (based on where you research the information from).
    I believe that you might like setting up the store, then "blasting" the site via marketing across a wide array of websites/search engines, depending on your marketing allowance.
    I hope this helps!
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  • mchutchmchutch subscriber Posts: 7
    You could also start off with Craigslist as well, they are a free.
    There are a couple midcentury modern furniture stores here in my city that lists their items on it.
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  • RojgieanRojgiean subscriber Posts: 0
    eBay tends to maret to a wider audience, like amazon, yahoo, and other such giants.
    Cragislist tends to market more to the local communities, like a few other online groups. 
    It might be a good idea to use BOTH systems in conjunction with eachother, depending on your initial budget, dalex.
    Good idea, mchutch. 
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  • dalexdalex subscriber Posts: 4
    I have seen ebay get more expensive to list due to the amount of auctions probably, I have noticed that the antique and collectible toys really catch some good money on ebay.
    How will I find sources to buy in larger quanitys to resell on ebay? I am thinking about swap meets etc.
    Have a great day and thanks for the help.
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  • RojgieanRojgiean subscriber Posts: 0
    There are companies that specialize in different products, and usually they are willing to cut you a discount if you "bulk buy".  That is one way.
    Another is to join a system like SMC... notice I said "like"... I don`t like to promote any single business as the answer, as we all have ifferent goals and expectations for our ventures!
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  • InflatableMadnessInflatableMadness subscriber Posts: 7
    I would say that the 2 categories you are in are both very popular on Ebay with heavy traffic and good sell thru rates.
    You have to weigh the cost of Ebay fees vs. building and promoting a website - design, hosting, pay-per-click programs, etc.
    And don`t forget that StartupNation.com has started an Ebay Blog! 
    http://www.startupnation.com/blog/categ ... EGORY_ID=6</A>
    Hopefully it will enlighten you.
    -Kevin
     
     
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  • dalexdalex subscriber Posts: 4
    It just so happens that Im a beginer web designer with lots of potenital. I have been attending a school for design. I have alot of the corporate progrmas such as macromedia and adobe.
    Who sells items in bulk on ebay?
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  • InflatableMadnessInflatableMadness subscriber Posts: 7
    inflatablemadness.com
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  • jwatkinsjwatkins subscriber Posts: 11 Bronze Level Member
    It is a good business to be in. Just keep in mind, marketing a website is about content. Be sure to have a blog that you post to daily and link it to your site. Be sure to start a squidoo lens and link to your site. Update both daily. Content is what drives traffic. Be sure to use lots of relevant keywords in your tags on the blog. I built a pr5 blog by doing this (totally accidental). Unfortunately it is a free wordpress blog and can`t really be monetized. Also, don`t try to sell anything on your blog or the Squidoo lens. Simply talk about antiques and the antique market. Become a trusted expert and the sale  would come.
     
    As far as ebay goes, you`ll take your chances with antiques on ebay, you may do well and you may not. However, if you`re an expert on collectibles and you tell me what a great buy a particular product you`re selling is, I am more apt to buy from you and at the asking price.
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  • startupbizhubstartupbizhub subscriber Posts: 1 Member
    Some great advices on starting a toy store. I hope there are already enough points on how to setup your website, how to market it, where to find bulk stuffs, how to take advantage with fees of ebay and many more...
     
    Great job guys...
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