Dr. Ken Evoy points out that there are three components of successful selling on the net:

1. An in-demand product
2. Powerful selling copy
3. Lots of targeted visitors

An eBay/website comparison:

1. An in-demand product:

A product that people want to buy is necessary for any sales, anywhere, period, over and out. If nobody wants what you're buying, then nothing else matters. This seems pretty obvious, but it isn't – at least not to some people.

Many fall victim to what I call “Backwards Marketing”, which is

* Fall in love with a widget --> go looking for buyers

Smart sellers do it the other way round:

* Figure out what people want --> give it to them

2. Powerful selling copy:

There are gigantic numbers of resources on how to write powerful sales copy. People have been studying this subject for decades and doing it well is an intensely demanding skill.

On an eBay webpage (because that is what an auction listing really is – a mini site) you will often see goods sold with only a one or two sentence description.

Put up a website with one or two sentences and see what you sell. “Meager” is a generous word for the kinds of results that you will get. It just isn't gonna happen.

Website sales copy that sells (there's plenty of the other kind, of course) is an intense, demanding or very expensive process. In spite of all the gimmicks on the net, people buy based on words, not flash or blinking banners.

3. Lots of targeted visitors:

Do you know what eBay really is? It's a gigantic TRAFFIC MACHINE. eBay has spent huge sums of money to bring millions of people to its site. And it's done a bang-up job, too. Every time you see a list of the top 10 most visited websites on the planet, eBay is always in that list. In fact, it's usually in the top five.

So, as a seller on eBay, you have access to 110 million users (according to eBay's report at the end of the second quarter of 2004).

Further, eBay buyers target themselves. That is, if they're interested in buying a watch, they skip the toys and clothing categories and go straight to your watch listing. Sellers don't have to worry about attracting buyers who don't care about their products.

Lastly, the mindset on eBay is unique. The Internet was created as a information medium, and that is what the majority of users are seeking. But if someone goes to eBay, she knows it is a sales site, not an information site. She is much more likely to be in a buying mood than is the casual surfer.

In his most recent newsletter, internet teacher Ralph Wilson answered the question of an internet newbie who was planning to quit his job and open his own website. He felt certain that he would be making substantial profits in six months. Dr. Wilson replied:

“I am sure you realize that all new businesses -- and Internet businesses especially -- are risky. There is no guarantee of success. Many good ideas fail because people (a) haven't chosen a profitable, low-competition niche, (b) don't know how to promote their sites, (c) can't put in adequate time, or (d) don't have enough money to develop adequate traffic to their sites. I don't recommend giving up a paying job to start an Internet business unless you come with a great deal of experience and a strong track record of online success.”

Those are the questions to ask yourself if you want to get into web-based internet sales:

1. Do you come with a great deal of experience?
2. Do you have a strong track record of online success?

If not, then look to eBay first. Once you have some skills and experience, and are making money with your products, then start thinking about your own site.