The Basic Elements of Online Selling: Guest Post, Part 1

I've been suffering from a bit of writer's block recently but luckily one of my friends volunteered to do a guest post. He knows far more about eBay and Amazon I do so that's what he'll be discussing. His post is pretty long so I'll be breaking it into multiple parts. Today is obviously Part 1. 
With a growing economy and rapidly developing consumer nations, e-commerce is on the rise. With fuller pockets, the need to spend is becoming commonplace and with it, an excess of material possessions. 

Now in an age of high speed computers and super fast internet, most shopping is now performed online. With retail merchants like Walmart and Target taking to the digital web, consumer spending has increased many times over. Most significant are the rise of pure e-commerce retailers, specifically those of Amazon and Buy.com. With the ability to avoid middleman costs and buy in bulk volume, websites such as these are able to keep their costs low and with other competing websites, it is in the best interest of these retailers to offer incentive deals such as reward points or free shipping to stay ahead in the game. 

Previously, when those purchased goods were no longer sufficient or desirable to the consumer, most gave or threw them away. Reselling old items was unheard of and mostly performed through garage sales. While unloading one’s possessions through this medium was somewhat profitable, the hassles of advertising one’s sale and collecting a decent profit were not worth the trouble to many. 

With the rise of e-commerce websites, online auction and consumer merchant websites arose, where not only could one purchase goods from brand name companies, but also from local merchants, unheard of brand names, and anyone with a computer, a camera, and incentive to sell or resell. Websites including ebay and amazon have creative an online consumer merchant base where the average person can now sell or resell their own products. Online selling can become lucrative for many as the average consumer can not only buy products with the intention of using them but also with the intention of reselling to make a profit.