How to pre plan your startup before selling on eBay

One of the most important steps to take before you actually begin selling on eBay is to pre-plan every step that you will take leading up to the actual start-up of your auction business. Those that know how to make money selling on eBay know that there are many critical start-up steps, and missing any of those steps can delay success. That’s where a start-up plan comes into play.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your eBay business will be when you first start. It doesn’t matter whether you will be conducting business from your home, or from a huge business complex. It doesn’t matter whether you are selling ten items or nine-hundred items per month. In every situation, business planning is required. While business planning is not a lot of fun, it significantly increases the likelihood of business success.
Those who know how to make money selling on eBay know that the risk of not conducting market research simply is not worth the risk.

Those who know how to make money selling on eBay know that market research is always required. Every new business opportunity requires a thorough market study before any time or effort is spent creating a product or starting the new business. No matter whether you operate your eBay business from your home or from a huge business complex, you will need to have a market for whatever you will be offering. Demand for your products is one of the most important factors that ultimately determine the success of your eBay business. Being in a huge market with many prospective buyers just waiting for your product is key.

There are many steps that need to be included in your pre-planning before you even begin to develop your formal business plan. Many of these steps are designed to give you a quick start as you develop your formal business plan and kick off business operations. They include:


• Establishing a business advisory board (Attorney, CPA, experienced eBayer, those with complementary skills and education)

• Determining the type of business entity you will have (Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Partnership, Corporation, etc.)

• Selecting a market and niche within that market

• Identifying products that you will sell in your market niche

• Establishing Banking Relationships

• Obtaining required business licenses and permits

• Register on eBay

• Register with PayPal

• Make five or more purchases (From five or more different sellers.) to establish your feedback record

• Begin developing business plan


Remember that one of your primary goals is to keep your business ahead of the competition. It needs to stand as unique and ‘better’ than others. Those who know how to make money selling on eBay know that the final business plan will describe how the company will stay ahead of its competition. Be sure that as you pre-plan you jot down the ideas about moving forward and staying ahead of the competition.

Preplanning is a key step in the start-up process. With solid preplanning developing a formal business plan becomes much easier. Preplanning moves you one step closer to knowing how to make money selling on eBay.
To your eBay success!