Before I started on eBay, I was afraid to do anything. Basically, I was too scared to list an auction because I didn't really understand the workings of eBay. In this lesson, I want to give you a few suggestions to get started on eBay.

1. Buy Something on eBay - You read that right! I am telling you to buy some items on eBay. It doesn't have to be expensive, just find something you want or need and put a bid on it. This will do several things for you. Most importantly, it will introduce you to the eBay system. You will see how eBay takes bids, how money is collected, how feedback is given and much more. As you go through this process, you will see eBay, up close & personal.

Not only will you learn the system, you will also see eBay from your future customers' perspective. Too often, sellers don't take into consideration their customer. They do what is best in their own eyes, not really caring about the bidder. When you buy on eBay, you put yourself in your customer's shoes. This is vital to be successful on eBay.

2. Become Familiar with eBay Fees - eBay fees were a major reason I would not start selling on eBay. I didn't want to list an item and possibly lose money on the entire deal. Let me explain eBay fees for you. When you list an item, you are charged a listing fee. Listing fees, also called insertion fees are based on your starting bid price. If you start your auction at 5.99, you are charged an insertion fee of .40. Anything that starts between 1.00 and 9.99 is charged the same insertion fee.

You can choose upgrades to your listing fee, but I only recommend the gallery picture fee. It generally runs about thirty cents. These insertion fee and gallery fee is charged when you put the auction on eBay, regardless of whether or not you sell your item.

The other fee you should know is the Final Value Fee. When your item sells, you pay eBay a fee based on the final selling price. It runs 5.25% up to 25.00. After that, you pay $1.31 plus 3.25% of the price over 25.00. So an item that sells for 10.00 would be charged fifty-two cents. as a final value fee. If your item sells for 30.00, you would pay $1.31 plus 3.25% of five dollars because your item sold for five dollars over $25.

3. Set Up an eBay and Paypal Account - Go to eBay and set up an eBay account so you can buy & sell. Once your eBay account is set up, go to Paypal. Paypal is the simplest way to accept money for your sold auctions. Paypal is owned by eBay and the two work together quite nicely.

4. Download Turbo Lister for Free - Turbo Lister is a free software from eBay. It allows you to easily list your items on eBay. You don't need to know html or any other software language to use Turbo Lister.Simply fill in the boxes and you are ready to go. It's really that simple. Once you have your items in Turbo Lister, you can upload all of them to eBay, using your eBay user ID.

5. Just Do It - This weekend I attended a workshop with Matt Bacak. The comment I heard repeatedly from the teachers was "Just do it. You don't have to get it right. You just need to do it." If you want to build an eBay business, you just need to get started. Just do it!

Find some items around your home and auction them on eBay. Your first auctions will not be perfect. But, they will get you started! You have to take the first step, to take the next step to a great eBay business.