Ebay Tip Number 74

Know - and understand, your costs

It is very easy to sell a lot of goods at auction and not have any money left at the end of the month. If you are going to be successful, it is critical that you track and have good visibility into your cost structure.

Here are some of the costs you should be tracking:

    * Product cost (including inbound shipping).

    * Listing and reserve fees

    * Feature fees

    * Final Value fee (if the item sells).

    * Auction Management Service (if you use one).

    * Credit card or PayPal service fees

    * Internet service or DSL fees

    * Shipping costs and materials

Quicken is a very good program for tracking costs and has a sub-set for running a business in the home. As you get more sophisticated, upgrade to Quick Books. The low-cost basic version is fine for most eBay sellers.