Google is the world’s search engine powerhouse, with millions of users around the globe conducting hundreds of millions or even billions of searches every day. Despite its place at the top of search engines, there’s another player that experiences even more volume of searches every day.
Would it surprise you to learn that eBay is that other player? It’s true: with gross sales of over $50 billion per year and nearly 400 million active registered users on the marketplace platform, eBay is the champion. Here are some statistics on eBay use:
- Approximately 70,000 new members join the platform every day
- Daily sales on eBay hover right around $150 million
- Users searching for products conduct nearly 4 billion eBay searches on the platform EVERY DAY
Let’s face it – online retail is here to stay. Sales of products and services purchased online have grown exponentially every year since the dawn of the public Web, and economists project that this trend will continue long into the future. With so many potential customers available on online marketplace platforms like eBay and Amazon, it makes good financial sense to figure out a way to tap into that market. Of those 400-odd million registered users on eBay, only about a million of them are sellers. This ratio is one of the keys to finding success selling goods on the platform. The other is to discover a niche that is not being exploited. In other words, finding a demand for products or collections of products and presenting them to the huge membership for sale.
Matt and Amanda Clarkson tapped into the eBay platform in 2006. After researching alternatives to traditional employment opportunities in their home country of Australia, the couple latched onto the idea of starting their own home-based retail business. Their first eBay storefront was launched in 2006, and within a few months, the couple had achieved millions of dollars in sales and the coveted Platinum status. Based on their research and the tools and methods they had developed on the way to financial success, the Clarksons decided that they could help others achieve similar levels of personal and financial freedom.
Today, the couple travels around the world, speaking at business conferences and mentoring others in online retail business strategy. The Clarksons are even best-selling authors, writing guidebooks for others to use to find success in marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Their Easy Home Business venture is a consultancy and training outlet for people around the globe who want to explore the proven strategies and tools the couple used when discovering their own success. Two of their many tips are worth their weight in gold for newcomers to the online marketplace. First, the couple shares the pitfalls they experienced when launching their eBay storefront. By sharing that information with others, the transition to financial success is that much smoother. Second, eBay and Amazon both offer automation tools for sellers that eliminate much of the tedious daily work to manage the storefront. By stressing the use of these tools, the Clarksons estimate that individuals need spend less than 10 hours per week taking care of business, freeing them up to enjoy the fruits of their labor.