Jason Fried reveals how he got good at making money. I am not a full-fledged member of the Church of 37signals, but one of my favorite lessons from them is that a business needs to practice how to make money in order to get good at it...it's not something that you just turn on when monetizing mode strikes.
So here's a great way to practice making money: Buy and sell the same thing over and over on Craigslist or eBay. Seriously.
Go buy something on Craigslist or eBay. Find something that's a bit of a commodity, so you know there's always plenty of supply and demand. An iPod is a good test. Buy it, and then immediately resell it. Then buy it again. Each time, try selling it for more than you paid for it. See how far you can push it. See how much profit you can make off 10 transactions.
Start tweaking the headline. Then start fiddling with the product description. Vary the photographs. Take some pictures of the thing for sale; use other photos with other items, or people, in them. Shoot really high-quality shots, and also post crappy ones from your cell-phone camera. Try every variation you can think of.
This is actually a good piece, but a wee bit preachy. But still good.
Anyone complaining about eBay and PayPal fees, please just be quiet. If you are running a home business where you sell things that don't take up too much space or is a hassle, then the fees are trivial compared to the profit in many cases. You think that when you pay $10 for something at a store, 100% of that $10 go to the owner? After rent, salary and even credit card fees real world business often deal with HIGHER fees than someone dealing with PayPal.
But I do agree 100% with his buy something and sell it just to even break even to experiment. That is the BEST way to learn how to sell something and is very little risk.
I got into eBay selling the usual way by selling off things I knew were valuable and could turn a profit. After a while I started to sell off stuff I had but didn't want anymore on eBay; I consider it an endless yard sale. Many times I made back my initial investment or lost money, but after 10+ years of doing this on eBay I started to understand what sold and what I was good at selling.
Then I started to sell Mac upgrades for folks who were tweaking their machines back in the early 2000. For those who don't know, Apple placed an "Apple tax" on many off-the-shelf PC components that either just had an Apple sticker or need a ROM flashing. So I would buy boxes of components, flash them or simply write an eBay explanation as to the item being tested on a Mac and soon enough I was making $20 to $80 profit for a good year or so until Apple basically obsolete the G4 machines. In the case of items that simply cost more as Apple branded I wrote a description that explains what the item was, how it was tested and how my feedback and tech expertise assures that the item will work. Anyone had the choice of buying the pure PC component, but they bought from me for a modest markup to save the hassle. I even had a few people give me PayPal "tips" for advice I provided. It was then I realized I set up a small tech store with loss leaders and consulting! I could not quit my day job on that money, but it helped me through some rough times.
Now I mainly sell old collectible toys from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I got into it when I started to sell off some of my old childhood toys, realized there was a profit in my childhood investment so I translated my passion and knowledge into buying collectible toys in bulk in the U.S. and Japan, cleaning up and assessing them and then selling them on eBay. Buy a huge lot of toys from a seller who doesn't want to deal with the headache, break it up, ID the parts and assess it, and then I am selling items that cost me about $2 a piece for around $10 a piece. Again, not enough to live on, but a very nice source of extra income.
Also, if you sell online, be prepared to ship. Some sellers never think of packing until after the sale. BAD MOVE! You might end up paying more in packing materials or delaying shipment while you hunt for boxes and screw up your sales transaction. I only sell items online I am 100% positive I can ship. And with that in mind, I have moved over to buying small collectible items in bulk I know I can stick in a padded envelope and ship. The weight assures first class shipping which is less than Priority Mail, but gets there as quickly in many cases. And the light weight makes it easier to carry.
Also, if you know you will ship items—like books and CDs—in bulk, buy a box of mailers from an online seller. It will end up costing you 25 cents per envelope which you might penny-pinch over, but it is a lot less than buying individual envelopes from the Post Office or drug store. And you have them on hand so it saves time.
I would also recommend investing in a small scale and even a nice label printer. The scale will help you give your customers a better estimate of cost and the printed labels will assure that the address is clear/legible on the package so it goes through the system correctly. Labels can be bought in bulk for thermal printers for tons less than local stores, and are just as good.
Oh, as far as shipping goes, my eBay shipping & handling rates are incredibly reasonable and always less than others but guess what? Buyers ALWAYS complain or have second thoughts on shipping & handling charges. ALWAYS! I charged someone $2 for shipping and they complained that shipping was $1.95. Don't worry about shipping other than the tips I give above, because ultimately nobody wants to pay for shipping and everyone complains. You'll never make them happy so don't sweat it.
Also Craigslist... Oy vey... I mainly sell items on there that weight too much or are too bulky to ship. And it works well somewhat. But folks on Craigslist want bargains and are lazy when picking up. Not worth the effort.
Phew! I just wrote that.
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