It's not just eBay undergoing major changes now, the credit crunch and huge increases in domestic bills are causing almost all businesses to examine their performance and adapt. Just as businesses are constantly needing to adapt so should we as individuals in order to maximise our potential earnings or protect our lifestyles from the threat of an unexpected drop in income.

All too often we look at sites like eBay and think of selling a DVD or toy to make a profit but, in my view, the profits are no longer so easy from such simplistic retail models.

eBay has reinvented itself this year and among the dramatic changes is a definate bias toward the larger, corporate retailers. Whereas people like you and me have to pay to list, these new super sellers can negotiate much reduced eBay fees and, according to many reports, even free listing is offered to some.

Simple logic tells me that, unless you are lucky enough to receive several unwanted gifts each week, you are unlikely to find a regular supply of new product at the kind of price that will create strong demand and sufficient profit to cover the purchase, eBay fees, Paypal fees and leave a viable profit. Even if you find a wholesaler willing to supply in modest volumes, it is obvious the big retailers gradually beginning to dominate many categories on eBay have considerably more purchasing power and volume of scale working on their side. Add these factors to the lower eBay fees they enjoy and your margins are likely to be tight if not impossible to maintain.

So think carefully before you start to build a business idea around a product where Buy.com or any of the larger powersellers will be a direct competitor. Business is rough thesedays and even if you manage to offer a product that undercuts the bigger boys, you can expect to attract unwelcome attention. While I am not naming names, it's not unheard of for sellers to find they get a rash of unhappy buyers downmark their detailed seller ratings causing listings to all but vanish on eBay. It only takes a few bits of bad feedback to ruin the reputation and visibility of a small sellers listings compared to those selling thousands of items each week who can easily shrug off a similar number of negative reports by buyers. So, while it's impossible for me to judge the viability of any particular business plan, I do urge extreme caution if you plan to enter in to trade within some of the most competitive categories on the auction site.

So where can small scale sellers still win out and earn good profits? Personally I think you can split most of the opportunities to profit on eBay in to two generalised headings now:

• Skill Based Products. Products produced by the seller, his or her family or friends etc. using a personal skill they have. These could be craft related products, works of art, souvenirs and memorabilia creations or self authored/published writing for example.


• Old Stuff. This could be second user items of a practical usable nature or even vintage and antique collectibles.

Focusing in these two areas means that, so long as there is a reasonable demand for what you offer enabling a reasonable profit after all costs are paid, it is unlikely you will find yourself fighting the major retailers on eBay who tend to sell new goods.

So what real examples have I seen that earn good profits from these two areas?

Under the old stuff category I am aware of many smaller dealers in items like postage stamps quietly doing well. Many simply buy large lots to break down from local real world auctions and invest the time and effort in research and listing individual stamps, sets of stamps and covers to generate profit. The collectables field can be a valuation minefield and there may be a time and cash overhead to consider in buying catalogs and valuation guides in order to do the research needed to buy the right lots and write the eBay descriptions.

If you are uncertain whether you can pick up sufficient knowledge to trade established collectibles then a browse thru the various collectible sub-categories on eBay can highlight some very interesting niches that demand far less knowledge and just a willing pair of legs to hit the thrift shops and yard or garage sales. I've previously written about vintage magazine ads growing in popularity for example but a couple of hours researching ideas on eBay will undoubtedly throw up more ideas.

The obvious example to highlight for the skill based product model is a competent artist. Nice artwork is in regular demand on eBay and if you can be confident of producing desirable work and shipping the items carefully then some research in the art categories to judge prices and calculate potential profits and returns for time invested are worth investigating. Of course this all assumes you have the artisitc talent in the first place!

If you like the idea but don't have the brush skills, consider other solutions to producing one off artworks. For instance there are relatively cheap 'do it yourself' processes available now to transfer digital photographs to canvas. You can even manipulate digital images to transform them in to unique pieces of digital art. Traditional artists will frown but, this is business, if the finished product is unique - perhaps signed to that effect - and catches the eye of a buyer then I wouldn't be upset if a thousand artists turned their nose up! Your PC is remarkably adept at covering the skills you lack in many areas!

Other successful art and craft ideas I've seen in operation include pebble polishing, ornament and jewellery making. My friend lives on a beach in the South of England and she is now a professional beach comber having given up the day job! She will sometimes find interesting items washed up on the beach in storms that will sell just as they are, but she also tumbles, cuts and polishes stones to create some amazing creations that sell extremely well. She credits her success far more to her location than she does her skills and the same is true of another gentleman I've met doing something similar with quartz and semi-precious stones and items he finds while walking around his home in Mid-Wales!

OK, I hear you, unlikely ideas if you live in an inner city and you don't drive! but maybe you write? Maybe you have iconic pictures to photograph within walking distance? Perhaps your city location gives you the advantage of have evening classes close by to teach you art or craft skills?

I don't care who you are. If you are in reasonably good health and keen to find a paying activity then the chances are you have a skill that you can profit from. All you need to do is recognise the skill and how it can generate a product to profit from. By doing your research, investigating likely demand and calculating whether viable profits can exist for an idea you will find new and possibly better alternatives emerge also.

The majority of ideas you come up with will probably never work out if you are sensible and apply rigid and down to earth tests to overcome to determine viability. I can't stress the need to research every idea thoroughly before investing any serious time or money in a project. Play devil's advocate with every idea you come up with. Invite family and friends to find problems with your ideas and if, after considering all the factors involved, you can still see demand and prices that will generate profits then you may just have a winner!

Finally, I will sign off with perhaps the best example I have of creative thinking leading to profit and even a life change. A friend I first met just two years ago in Florida now has a business that takes him all over the US producing audio products for clients. More often than not these are radio commercials or voice overs, but he's one of the few people still rapidly moving up the property ladder in the Orlando area right now. How did he start out? By buying an unwanted piece of software called Adobe Audition on eBay for less than $80! He quickly mastered it and went on to produce catchy internet radio and website audio commercials or jingles for clients using that software. Where do you think he sold the first few of these commercials and achieved a 100% sell thru rate every time he listed? I think you can guess, and he soon moved on to set up his own website!

Can you think of an idea that people could use to create wealth on eBay? Let us play devil's advocate for you in our auction forums!