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Testing the Waters
If you’ve ever dreamed of quitting your job and going into business for yourself, you may have considered online retail. But opening your own web site is quite an undertaking — you’ll need to acquire a domain name, integrate shopping cart software, design your web pages, optimize your copy, and the list goes on. And all those services will cost you money up front, which means you’ll need to have some capital set aside. So before you tell your boss what you really think of his toupee, you may want to consider trying a somewhat simpler option first — the eBay store.

Running an eBay store is a great way to get a feel for whether or not selling online suits you. It’s a simple entry point that lets you test the waters, without committing a lot of your money or time. The cost is only $16.95 a month and the first thirty days are free — a pretty safe investment.

5 Benefits to Choosing EBay
EBay takes care of much of the busywork associated with running an E-Biz . There are numerous advantages to starting an eBay store before creating your own web site:

• EBay hosts your site, provides you with a URL, a shopping cart, and an easy-to-use tool that lets you quickly design an attractive storefront.

• EBay takes care of search engine optimization for you — making sure that you'll be listed with the major search engines, as well as the minor engines they feed.

• When you start an eBay store, you have an immediate presence online — from Day One, you have 170 million customers.

• EBay provides an 800 number with live support.

• EBay offers workshops, at no extra cost, on how to implement the various tools they offer.

3 EBay Tools You Should Be Using
EBay even offers built in channels for growing your business. Janelle Elms (http://JanelleElms.com), successful e-business author and lead instructor for eBay University, tells, "What amazes me is how many sellers are not taking advantage of all the amazing tools that eBay gives you for that $16 each month.” She quickly lists a few of eBay’s biggest untapped resources:

• An opt-in newsletter to keep your eBay store in front of your customers. A series of clicks and pull down menus, and your newsletter is ready to go in a matter of minutes. A simple source to keep your customers coming back, but many people don’t even realize that option is available to them.

• RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication). Once you turn this button on, all your buyers have to do is click on it, and every time you put new products in your store or up for auction, they’ll get an update telling them what you’ve added. Says Elms, "An RSS Feed is basically a legal version of a pop-up ad.”

• Printable brochures of your eBay store to send out with every package to show your customers what else you offer and to remind them to shop with you again.

EBay stores are user-friendly — anyone can run one. In addition to being a great proving ground for your online retail skills, you may find it to be a very profitable enterprise in and of itself.