If you're serious, you definitely need an accounting program 

If you plan to expand your business to a full time enterprise you are definitely going to need an accounting program.

Sage Simply Accounting Basic for Microsoft Office Users

This is the accounting software that I use. I did find the learning curve to be a little more than it should have been. However, I am an accountant and I just had to get used to how things flow through the system. I would recommend this if money is tight and you have some idea of how accounting systems work.

I'm still using this two years later, but I am considering an upgrade.

Release Date: 01/11/2006

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Amazon Price: (as of 11/22/2008)
List Price: $49.99
Used Price:

QuickBooks Pro 2008 [OLD VERSION]

I do not have any experience with Quickbooks, but I hear very little as far a negative things go when it comes to this software.

Release Date: 10/11/2007

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $177.99 (as of 11/22/2008)
List Price: $199.95
Used Price: $119.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

QuickBooks 2008: The Official Guide

by: Kathy Ivens

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $19.79 (as of 11/22/2008)
List Price: $29.99
Used Price: $17.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

QuickBooks Simple Start Plus Pack 2008 [OLD VERSION]

Release Date: 10/11/2007

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $71.49 (as of 11/22/2008)
List Price: $99.95
Used Price: $96.72

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BCH Media also has a low cost eBay accounting software 

If most of your selling is going to be on eBay, you should also look into the eBay Accounting Companion by BCH Media.

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Get a Reseller's Number 

AICPA - State Sales & Use tax list

This link will take you to the AICPA listing of states with Sales & Use tax. It will take you directly to S&U section of the website so you won't have to mess around going in circles on a state website.

Research your items 

I used Terapeak for about 9 months before switching to the next research tool. I liked the fact that it's web-based and it's great for looking up individual items. I did have a difficult time trying to research top selling items in my category, which is why I switched to Hammertap.



I just recently switched to Hammertap and I am definitely impressed with their software. I'm not totally thrilled that it's actually a downloadable program, but the information that they provide is absolutely wonderful.

Know your eBay Fees! 

Free Auction Fee Calculator

I absolutely love this site and use it at lease once a week. The link above will take you to the main page and you can figure out where to go from there by choosing the particular eBay site you'll be listing on.

Stay on top of your own feedback and check the feedback of others 

Tool Haus

I use this site all of the time to checkout negs of a seller I'm thinking of buying from. Another useful tool is the neg90 to check your own negative feedback within the last 90 days and stay on top of the Non-Performing Seller requirements.

After you've been selling for a little while, you'll want to have a template done for your auctions 

A template will give your auctions a consistant and professional look. I have never had any work done with her, but I have never found a bad word said about Mad Matatu on eBay. The person that came up with my eBay template was very good also, but I don't think she's around any more.

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I buy most of my shipping materials from cuttingedgepackaging on eBay. 

Cuttingedgepackaging shipping super fast. I can place an order by 3PM on Monday, have it shipped UPS Ground and receive it by Wednesday. You can't ask for better service than that.

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Before you print, you should consider investing in a Thermal Printer 

A Thermal printer does not use any ink and the labels are only about 3 cents a piece from Trek Labels. I only buy from this seller because you can get burned by people selling free UPS labels. I highly recommened looking for one of the Thermal printers that Hippovariety sells for around $50. I know for sure it's a Zebra Eltron and it's either model 2442 or 2543.

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Don't get burned by paying for free labels, buy from Joyce09 on Ebay. 

There are many sellers on eBay pulling a scam by selling thermal labels that they get for free from Fed Ex or UPS. That's why there's only one seller that I trust when it comes to buying labels for my thermal printer.

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Shipping your items 

You've made a sale and now you need to ship your item. If you are going to be doing a high volume of small package or international shipping, I highly recommended Endicia.com; I will never go back to using Paypal or the USPS site on a full time basis; and I definitely will not go back to preparing any of my shipments by hand again.

Stay on top of things with news from Auctionbytes.com 

I have the Auctionbytes newsletter delivered every day. I don't get a chance to read it every day but it does help me stay on top of things.

Check back often, this feed updates every hour.

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Recommended reading. 

I don't recommend that you spend all of your time reading, but once in a while I find that a good book is excellent motivation for me. Reading also gives me something productive to do if it's too nice outside to sit inside all day.

eBay PowerSeller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay's Most Successful Sellers

by: Debra Schepp, Brad Schepp

This book gives some great tips on automating your business to take it to the next level. I found it very useful and informative.

Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 11/22/2008)

Entrepreneur

I love it when my monthly issue of Entrepreneur comes in the mail. There is something I can use in almost every issue.

Amazon Price: $11.97 (as of 11/22/2008)

Printing and Advertising 

Once you're up and running, you'll definitely want to have some business cards printed up. You can't beat Vista Print for their price and speed. Most of my promotional materials are purchased on sale; many times they are FREE!
Vista Print Free Deals of the Week


Don't forget to reserve the Domain name of your eBay store. To start with you can use the domain to redirect to your store; at some point in the near future you'll want to start developing an off eBay site for customers to shop also.

ListMyStore - Get your eBay Store Listed FREE

Of course, you'll want to promote your eBay listings here on Squidoo, but here's another way to get traffic to your eBay store (if you decide to open one). To get more traffic from them, promote your List My Store link on your eBay About Me page.

Do you use any of these tools or have others to share?