business deal for ebay advice?

decaljunkie · #1 10-20-2009

i am going to show a person i know , every thing i know about ebay ! i am going to show him how to use ebay , where i get my products and pretty much every thing he needs to know about ebay and how to make $2000- $3000 in the first month and so forth... the same exact way i do it. but he will have to agree give me 20% of his earnings every month. do you guys think this is fair, or is there a better idea? this is a open discussion. feel free to comment.

aking · #2 10-20-2009

who ever takes you up on that offer would be stupid, lol. sorry JMO

inverser · #3 10-20-2009

20% is a reasonable percentage, but for how long? Forever? That's most definitely unreasonable.

TBH, knowing what I know about eBay, I wouldn't take this deal if I were your friend. Depends on the product but usually that 20% is pretty much all of the profit anyway. So even if your friend is able to sustain sales he will quickly realize that he's giving you nearly all of the profits, at which point he'll either quit or steal from you.

philly387 · #4 10-20-2009

I am guessing it would probably take about 3 hours for you to tell him everything. Figure out how much you are worth per hour and charge that much. So if you think your services are worth $50/hour, then charge him $150 and there you go.

yaw1800 · #5 10-20-2009

^ i agree with philly, charge a base price, not too hefty but do you really want to give up your supplier to him? in that case why dont you two set up a partnership or something

decaljunkie · #6 10-20-2009

i really don't, care about making the 20% to much because this this person is a good friend. i just don't want him to go and share this valuable, information with anyone else, because it will give me a lot of competitors. and possibly lose money if every one starts doing the same thing I'm doing. does this sound selfish?

GreenBean · #7 10-20-2009

decal,

there's a rule you should REALLY think about: friends and business do not mix. Don't give the friend access to YOUR niche. Guide him towards finding his own.
Keep your business for YOU.

I speak from bitter first-hand knowledge.

**TGMT²** · #8 10-20-2009

Are we talking about teaching him how to make $2000-$3000 profit or are those just in sales? 20% seems very fair if you are taking your cut from the profit side.

Is your friend currently a eBay seller? If not, I cannot imagine this would be worth your time. I have been trying to teach my girlfriend everything involved on selling on eBay as a business, and she hasn't came that far in 3 months. It has been like twice as much work for me.

decaljunkie · #9 10-20-2009

ok the truth is, my friend is really my brother. just want to help him make money because he just moved back home from Arizona. and is in need of money, but i don't think he will keep it a secret if i show him the ins and outs of ebay, and where i get my product form and everything know. and i just don't want him to tell everyone what i show him, because if every one start doing the same thing it will create more competitors for me. right? just need some advice , should i show my bro? or should i show him how to use ebay, and find a different product to sell so i wont have to worry about all the competitors if he dosent keep it a secret? please advise

philly387 · #10 10-20-2009

Why don't you just make him work for you then and you make more money?

decaljunkie · #11 10-20-2009

well i thought of that but what i do requires me to teach him how to use a machine that makes my products, i just buy the material bulk and my machine does most of the work. the only thing that is needed after the product is made is packing it in a envelope and putting a postage on it. i have been tiring to think of a way that we can partner up but cant seem to come up with anything fair. because if i show him how to use the machine and were i get my material then he will probly just start his own business. and that's fine and all but i don't want any one else to know, and he will probably tell someone. i worked real hard to know what i learned and dont want just anyone to get a hold of this knowledge.

philly387 · #12 10-20-2009

Don't tell him or show him where you get the stuff from and you should be fine.

Hottest_eBay_Goddess · #13 10-20-2009

It's his brother. lol

ebay got me again · #14 10-20-2009

I would maybe just show him how to use ebay and such but let him come up with his own ideas on what to sell, im sure there are other things that might interest him that he could sell besides it kinda sounds like you might not have full trust in him anyways with this priceless info anyways. But you can tell me what it is you do and i promise i wont tell anyone else scouts honor lol. just pm me

BooMer · #15 10-20-2009

If I was making a lot of money and it was my sister or brother then I will bring them in the "FAMILY BUSINESS" to enjoy the benefits... Especially if they need money or jobless.

It all boils down to how much you trust your brother to keep your info within the family. That will be your decision to make alone. Not ours..

I try not to tell friends or non-blood related family members what I do or how I do it. I don't have time to show someone the ropes if that creates less profit for me.

You don't see Coca Cola giving Pepsi advice do you?

BooMer

aking · #16 10-20-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by decaljunkie

i really don't, care about making the 20% to much because this this person is a good friend. i just don't want him to go and share this valuable, information with anyone else, because it will give me a lot of competitors. and possibly lose money if every one starts doing the same thing I'm doing. does this sound selfish?

I didnt mean to be blunt, but it does sound a bit selfish. As far as sharing information, I would hope that he wouldn't. Why would anyone want competition?

Lyda · #17 10-20-2009

To me, it sounds like an idea for residual income....If your business plan works and you manage to have 2-3 sellers you "mentor" paying you 20%, you don't really need to hussle with listngs yourself any more..Just my 2 cents. :D

decaljunkie · #18 10-21-2009

that is was my plan to create residual income,once i show them them everything i know, there is really no way to monitor there sales on ebay , so ican get my cut of 20%. i can tell him to show me his paypal sales statements and transactions but he could just open another ebay and pp account without me knowing, and sell on the new account , and tell me he is not selling much on the first account.or is there a way to monitor his sales without me getting burned?

lakeman · #19 10-21-2009

Would your brother really do that to you? After you showed him what you were selling and helped him out? It sounds like you don't trust him very much.

Lyda · #20 10-21-2009

Well, its simply business... and you know how people are. The idea is good, but I really can't think of a way to monitor those sales in a way its fair to both of you...Brother or not, sooner or later this would probably happen. I think its better for you to charge certain fee just to train someone,and than they are on their own.

Burning · #21 10-21-2009

Hmm... maybe you could deal with paypal while he deals with ebay. But, he could alway's open a new paypal account. I am not really sure....

decaljunkie · #22 10-22-2009

yeah, i cant think of a secure way to monitor it either.