Good eCommerce Link

I wanted to share a good eCommerce link. I heard this guy, Chris Malta, on eBay radio. He was talking about sourcing retail products for your eBay store. He has a good (and free) eBook on starting an online business, and he also has a great list of wholesalers and drop shippers on his site, World Wide Brands, Inc.

Chris has been on eBay radio and also hosts a radio show for Entrepreneur Magazine.

I think that the best advice from Chris's free eBook is to get your tax ID number when you are starting a home or Internet based business. Legitimate wholesalers and/or drop shippers will not deal with you unless you have a tad ID number.

Franchise Business -- i Sold It
I have thought some about opening a franchise store. If I were interested in opening a bricks and mortar store, I think it would be a franchise. Because of the great expense of opening a 'real' store, I think being a part of a franchise would supply not only the best opportunity for success, but it would also help in getting a business loan.

I have been hearing radio ads recently in my area for a new store. It is called i Sold It. Their website i-SOLDit.com has information about the business (by the way, I think that i-soldit.com is a terrible website name. I hate dashes in names. Just something to think about when registering domain names. I bet that if you go to find the business online in the future you will forget the dash. I did.).

The basic idea is that a person takes an item of value to one of their stores. I Sold It takes photos of the item, does market research, and lists the item on eBay. Then when the items sells, they pack and ship the package to the winning bidder. The person who brought the item into the store gets a check mailed after the successful transaction.

The fees break down like this:

Commission is 30% of the first $500 and 20% of the remaining amount
(over $500). iSold It charges a $5.00 minimum commission per item.

Then, eBay Fees are:
Listing/Gallery photo fee of $0.60 (assumes $9.99
starting bid) plus 5.25% of the first $25, 2.75% of the next $975, and
1.5% of any amount over $1,000.

And finally, Payment Processing Fee

$.30 plus 2.5% of the final selling price.

They show that for:

$100.00 you get $66.23 or 63% of the final value
$1000.00 you get $695.98 or 70% of the final value
$5000.00 you get $3,735.98 or 75% of the final value.

I think that is a fair fee schedule, especially for someone who does not have a computer, Internet connection, digital camera, and/or the time to list and follow through with an eBay transaction.

I wonder how long it will take for someone to turn this into a home/Internet based business. It is not a bad idea....more to come.
Is anyone earning money as an Amazon Associate?
Is anyone actually earning money as an Amazon Associate? I signed up today because I thought it was cool that this weblog can be linked to the Amazon Associate affiliate program. But I wonder if anyone is actually earning money.

I have seen this program for years. I think it must be one of the first affiliate programs on the web, but I wonder how much people are earning? Probably not much by just passively linking items to a weblog? Anyone with experience? How much are you earning?