Isn't this the most popular question? Who doesn't want to get rich? Everyone does, but does everyone have the capacity to get rich and ready to tackle the obstacles to get to the end of the line of being rich?

Robert Kiyosaki in his books always asks the readers "Can you make a better hamburger than McDonald?" Majority of people would say 'Yes'. After all, look at how small, flat and uninviting the appearance of the burger.

However, would you say yes to this "Can you build a better business than McDonald?"

I see Ebay is no different from other business, online or not. Still, people think Ebay as a place where they can make money easily selling their unused stuffs. It does have the advantage of being able to reach or sell to people across the world. If you sell your second-hand items where profits are not your main concern, selling on Ebay can be one way to sell your second-hand item fast.

However, selling second-hand items casually will not get you rich, unless you make a business of buying and selling second-hand items. With selling new items meaning you are also in competition with other sellers with similar products you are selling and this makes selling on Ebay becomes a challenge or even a headache, what you think as a fun thing to do becomes a demanding job. Why? So many sellers from around the world selling the same things, it creates a competition to give buyers the best deal and cheaper price.

Now, let's say A has a 20G Apple Ipod and B has exactly the same Ipod on Ebay. You can be sure that A and B would get different result from selling the Ipod. There are so many factors that caused these differences (i.e. ratings, descriptions, shipping, or the deal offered). Even what seems minor to us may result in one buyer buys from A instead of B or vice versa, this can be a bit extreme, but unconsciously you also make your buying decision on which Ebay ID shows more credibility.

There is another factor to consider, the Ebay fees before and after the listings end. You need to calculate your base price, selling price, price after fees, plus how you can still compete with other sellers' prices and you still make good profit.

To summarize, in my opinion you can get rich selling on Ebay, but just as any other things in the world, your success is measured on how much time and effort you contribute. There is no way Ebay = getting rich easily. The only advantages I can think of selling on Ebay is world wide potential buyers, and it is cheap and easy to set up (ie. you can sell from the comfort of your own house). This really helps as many people don't want to start their own business due to the complex legal procedure on setting up a business.

One secret I can give if you want to be successful in Ebay world is the word niche'.

Learn more about this author, Maximillian Yonas.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Can you really get rich on Ebay??
We want to hear your view. Write now!