Tips for online sellers

CEBU, Philippines – If you want to sell online, try to stick with what you know and what you like. If you like to collect books, if you like to collect movies, if you're in the music business or if you've sold electronic components, there's a market for everything. That's my main advice, stick with what you know because it's safer that way. You'll know what the value of items is, and you'll know when you're getting a good buy and when you're not. Otherwise you could make the wrong buy at the wrong time, and that can really hurt you.

Buying and selling online is as risky as anything else. I'm putting my money out front every time to buy the goods I sell. It's similar to investing in the stock market, but not as risky because you're putting your money into inventory and it will remain inventory if you don't sell it.

You don't need a lot of inventory to start. I began with my own personal collection of books, roughly 300 to 400 books, and four or five guitars. But right away I wanted to push it and started doing a lot of buying.

- from Fast Forward By Alfred C. Sikes with Ellen Pearlman (Morrow)