by Alicia Alligood

Created on: December 15, 2008

It's easy to find a number of websites and organizations which claim that they're willing to pay you to do work for them in the form of surveys, marketing assignments, etc. However, if you want income that's more along of the lines of guaranteed profit, and comes with all the other benefits of online, home-based work, it's best to start your OWN online business "from scratch." This way you're neither depending upon nor answering to anyone but yourself.

I've tried various methods of earning income online and I've found much success in my home-based eBay business. Home-based work is great, and the income can easily become consistent (or even increase exponentially) if you use all the proper resources, stay organized, and put in enough hard work. As with any other form of employment, there are various pros and cons to eBay businesses, which I will discuss further.

If you're seriously considering starting your own home-based business, whether it's via eBay or some other means, there are a few things you should consider. As with any business, to build a sold foundation for your home-based profit plan, you will need to invest some funds! I started with a few hundred dollars, which I put towards purchasing my intitial product inventory and shipping supplies (if you're business is not in the sale of physical objects, your investments might go towards building a proper website to advertise your services, etc). I also put some funds aside towards shipping costs. If you are going to be shipping out products to customers/clients, you should carefully estimate funds you may need for this-taking into consideration whether or not you'll be engaging in international shipments, package weights and sizes, shipping fees and service providers (USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, etc.).

Next, you'll need to consider how you'll want to present yourself to potential customers. Since I use eBay, I have a standard layout I use for my auction templates. I also have standard offers like free shipping on certain products, defective product replacement offers, etc. Personal trademarks like a unique appearance to your template/website will provide consistency and allow for your customers to recognize your products, websites and services. This also makes it easy for regular customers to access your products and services.

Also, if you're using eBay, you need to consider that they have a number of policies, rules, fees, and other things which you NEED TO MAKE YOURSELF AWARE OF. Unknowingly breaking rules can result

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