If you need reasons to sell stuff on eBay, then consider our current recession/depression. It's important to realize that in any economy - yes, ANY economy - there are folks who make money. And those who understand why eBay can be a recession proof business will be among that elite group because the truth is that those who have the eyes to see the opportunities will do well no matter what. Some - not all - eBay sellers will profit from these eight advantages.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #1: Zero Dollar Starting Costs

One huge reason to sell stuff on eBay in this scary and uncertain time is that it costs you nothing at all to set up your eBay business.

* In five minutes or less you can be signed up as a legitimate eBay seller: cost zero.

* Then spend another five minutes signing up at PayPal.com so that you can accept money from buyers: cost zero.

How many businesses can be created in less than 10 minutes for no money at all?

Recession Proof Business Advantage #2: "Try Before You Buy"

If you are an eBay seller you can "try before you buy". This means that you can start your eBay business without spending one single penny on merchandise. To do this, take a quick walk through your home. Look around with a careful eye and find a few items that you really don't want anymore. You know: that purple hippopotamus statue that you got last Christmas from aunt Edna ... do you really need it?

Then experiment on eBay by posting a few items for sale and see what happens. Naturally you will want to look around the site for a while and see listings of successful sellers to get an idea of how this is done, but this is an interesting and educational experiment that costs you absolutely no money at all.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #3: Low Risk

Your risk on eBay is ridiculously low because you can list an item for sale for as little as $.10. What could be a bigger bargain than selling on one of the top websites on the planet for such a tiny amount of money? And what's the worst that can happen? Wow, you lost ten whole cents.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #4: Self Financing

You can finance your business as you go. Rather then putting out huge expenditures of money, you can use the profits from your first sales to finance future merchandise you can sell to bargain hunters. The trick, of course, is not to spend at your profits at first but to reinvest them into inventory.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #5: eBay Sales As Bargain Sales

In these perilous times, everyone is looking for a bargain. Fortunately for the eBay seller, eBay is perceived as a bargain site [even though often prices are as high as those on other famous eCommerce sites]. This works in your favor because when Internet buyers need something they will often turn to eBay. If you have what they're looking for, your chances for a sale are excellent.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #6: Enormous Traffic

As one of the top websites in the world eBay has enormous traffic. If you set up your own online store, you have the difficult problem of getting enough traffic to make your store worthwhile. Most would-be Internet sellers fail at this step because they have no idea how to get large numbers of real buyers to eyeball their goodies. Fortunately, eBay takes care of all this problem for you - and at a bargain price.

Recession Proof Business Advantage #7: Cheap eBay Advertising

eBay advertising is incredibly cheap! We have mentioned that you can list an item for $.10. Let's compare this with a favorite way of getting traffic on the Internet: Pay Per Click [PPC]. With Google PPC the advertiser pays for each individual click. Let's presume that you can get clicks for $.10 on Google and compare costs:

* eBay cost: 10,000 people view your offer = cost $.10

* Google AdWords: 10,000 people view your offer = cost $1,000

Recession Proof Business Advantage #8: Credibility

When money is tighter people are much more careful about what they spend. Their Scam Alert is on full time. It would be hard to find an Internet user who has never heard of eBay and this gives you instant credibility because everybody knows that eBay is a real site and generates tens of millions of dollars in sales every year. This gives the eBay seller a built-in advantage over an unknown website with an unknown product.

In any economic recession there are businesses that will thrive - and those that will wither up and blow away. If you choose to sell stuff on eBay that is 'hot',, you can indeed build a recession proof business for yourself and your family. All it takes is a bit of research and creative thinking to figure out what people will pay for in spite of hard times. Recession? What recession?