I opened Eye Catching Beauty on eBay in February of 2007.

I had decided to sell on eBay about 3 weeks prior to opening my store. The whole thing was spontaneous. I literally woke up one morning and declared I was going to sell on eBay. Sell what? hmmm I hadn't thought about that yet, but within a few minutes I decided and announced beauty products.

So I immediately (and I mean immediately) started shopping. I immediately decided that I was going to sell Urban Decay so those purchases became my primary target. About a week later I ran into some auctions for Pureology, which became my second target.

By the time I had opened my store I had accumulated Urban Decay, Mac, Estee Lauder, Clinique, and some Lancome for cosmetics. Hair products focused on Pureology and T3 brushes. And I had bought a ton of Bath and Body works- true blue spa, breathe, and signature collection. Of course I have continued purchasing products over the past 18 months and have learned a few lessons along the way.

Lesson #1 - don't over pay for your merchandise. The pricing is so low in the eBay market that you have to be very careful when you make purchases.

Lesson #2 - I have learned to choose products to carry after I research them, rather than sitting on a lot of products that just don't sell well.

Lesson #3 - Watch the trends in my store to see which type of audience I am drawing and choose my products based on what they would likely be interested in. I have found that it is best to maintain a balance between carry a really broad product offerings and going to narrow.

Lesson #4 - listen to my customers! what have they asked about and/or suggested as products to carry. The more I can cater to my customer base the larger it grows. Naturally after finding my audience I am have found their recommendations generally please others who already shop at Eye Catching Beauty and encourages more people to Shop at Eye Catching Beauty.

So over the past 18 months my store has grown and i now have over 900 products of cosmetics, haircare, and bath & body products. I have fabulous customers many of which have become my friend. It is much more work than I ever imagined, but overall I like what I do.