I have been selling full-time on eBay for about a year now. I am not getting rich, but I am earning enough to focus exclusively on eBay and the task of buying and selling. Lately, friends have been asking questions. "Can a person really make money doing this?" "How do you do it?" "Could you list something for me?" You get the idea. So I came up with what I believe to be three key tips for more successful sales on eBay.

First, this article is not about dropshipping. I've tried that. It didn't work for me. I'm not against it. In fact, some eBay sellers have built very successful dropshipping businesses. It's just not for me. Instead, this article is about buying and selling. That's what I do. I'm the guy who frequents garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, and local auction houses. This article simply references my own experience.

Specialize

It is important to find a product category that you can have consistent success with, but remember to allow yourself enough flexibility to also buy and sell outside of that category. I tend to specialize in vintage electronics and cameras, but with an open mind and a chance bid, I once bought a box of turquoise belt buckles and bolo ties for seven bucks at an auction. A week later, that seven dollar investment earned a profit of over $300.

Don't be afraid to lose a few dollars if your gut tells you to buy. Having said this, how does one come to specialize in any given product or product category? The answer is simple. Find out what it is you can purchase at the lowest possible price and resell at the highest possible price. Yeah, it's almost a no-brainer.

For me, the answer was vintage electronics. Why? The competition is low. Now, that may not be the case in your area. Where you live, you may find very little competition in a different product category. If you're completely new to this, here's a project: Go to a local auction. Look at what people are bidding high on and what they are bidding low on. Write down some examples. Then go back to eBay, and conduct an advanced search of completed listings to see what those products are currently selling for. In doing this, you should be able to estimate what your profit margin would be for those given products.

Consider All Costs

When making a purchase decision, consider all costs. I do. However, I do not account for my time. The way I see it, the value of my time is equal to my net profit.

But what about holding costs? This was something I learned about a number of years ago while buying and selling furniture through an antique mall. The particular mall I was at included about forty-five dealers, many of which, who either did not understand the concept of holding costs or just did not care. For instance, if they had a vase that was worth $800, then that's what they expected to sell it for. Odds were, they picked the thing up at a garage sale for pennies on the dollar. But they didn't care. They were bound and determined to hold onto that vase for eternity unless someone offered them full price for it. As for me, I was not in the business of collecting. I was in the business of getting the greatest return on my investment in the least amount of time. The longer you hold an investment, the more money you lose.

My approach to eBay is the same. Buy it, and move it in seven days. I don't warehouse inventory. It costs money, and it creates clutter.

Don't Give Up

We give up when we let discouragement prevent us from moving forward. The moment you give up, you agree to miss out on what could become the greatest moment of your life. I was reminded of this recently when I turned a split-second purchase of $40 into a net profit of $400 within a week. Prior to that, I had spent all day moving from one garage sale to the next, finding nothing but teddy bears and baby clothes. I was tired, and I was thinking about giving up. Not for the day, but for good. I was thinking that maybe I should just get a regular job and let somebody else determine my worth. Until that point, I had endured a dismal stretch of approximately three months where it seemed nothing was clicking. If I didn't make a bad purchase, there were no purchases to be made. That day, something special happened. Was it the greatest moment of my life? No. But it was a moment I needed, and it only happened because I chose not to give up.

Nick Anthony began his My364.com project in May, 2007. His goal is to convert an ordinary rock into $100,000 in 364 days through the process of bartering, buying, and selling.