Virtual Biz Group » Virtual Business Strategies

eBay your Business

www.virtualbizgroup.com — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For some smaller transaction based businesses, operating your own website savvy enough to allow for an online exchange may require resources either not readily available or not within budget parameters. Thankfully for such strapped owners, an old name in the realm of virtual business is there to provide a platform by which to convert demand to revenue. eBay is used by countless sellers who otherwise might have difficulty finding buyers if restricted geographically. By opening doors consumers far and wide to find products that cater to every whimsical desire, eBay creates a dynamic marketplace like few others. How can you operate your small business using eBay to your advantage? Assess if eBay meets your business needs For some eBay might not be a proper fit. Those who intend to produce services or products that are only relevant on a local level may find eBay to be a waste of time, with more potential leads available through tangible means. For novelty or specialty items with universal appeal, on the other hand, eBay can be a great tool to gauge interest and ultimately find buyers.Determine the value of your product or service Search for similar items, potential competitors in your market, and notice the range of prices auction items tend to settle at. Then, put one or two test items up for auction to see if you can fetch a similar price. If so, you have now determined the de facto market value for your item. Setting a “Buy it Now Price” may help to undercut competition if that price is slightly lower than average auctions or help you to make additional profit if the Buy it Now Price seems like a bargain but is actually slightly higher than less successful items. Account for shipping The shipping costs can be included on your item description page, however, by the time of your first auction you should have the groundwork laid to ship to any buyer on any continent. Obviously, larger scale operations will require more detailed shipping plans, but as you grow your small business to move more and more items, shipping will likely be less expensive on a per item basis as a result of decreasing marginal costs.

Virtual Business in a Purely Virtual World

www.virtualbizgroup.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:30:43 +0000

The “virtual” portion of the term virtual business is actually returning closer the words original roots as technology and society’s obsession with computer driven socially interactivity increases. As virtual business has evolved from mere simulation to real money transaction, the spheres in which it takes place is creeping back to now include the non real. While gamers have long spent money on in-game upgrades with no tangible, physical manifestations, transactions are now being completed in a completely virtual world with its only ties to reality being the account information used to finance the transaction and the fingertips used to punch in the numbers. The cult phenomenon of Second Life, a fully animated internet accessible realm of possibility in which users interact through customizable avatars, has opened a new door through which real people are making money by supplying products for fully fictional demands.Launched by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life differs from the common computer game. With no character goals or objectives and a very limited number of rules (much of which mirror similar copyright and indecency in the real world), Second Life presents a carefree caricature of modern society, not only alleviating the pressures and responsibilities of “First Life” but enhancing the everyday with the ability to fly. As of January 2010, 18 million accounts worldwide were living auxiliary second lives, providing quite the consumer base for entrepreneurs to take advantage of. Linden Lab estimates that approximately 64,000 users turn a profit in the Second Life economy in a given year, however the majority fail to make more than 10. There have been larger scale success stories with just over 200 users banking 5,000 a year, a few of whom are rumored to have made over 1,000,000. Money is made by selling virtual products and services in addition to real estate within the second life arena. Second Life supports a fairly stable currency, known as the Linden Dollar (LD), valued at around 250 LDs to 1 US Dollar.

Combining Virtual with Brick and Mortar

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:25:58 +0000

Though virtual business in its purest form has no structural headquarters, well established companies and corporations across the globe have enhanced their already viable business models with virtual business strategies and tactics. In fact, any company that claims it is operating at its utmost level of efficiency, without maintaining a functional website on which transactions can be converted, is either lying or outright delusional. Even for traditional businesses, online sales often pace a company’s growth and expansion, providing new levels of reach and a widening consumer base. After all, even the hardest working, most dedicated salesman are not on call 24 hours, 7 days a week to close sales, explain product details and features or field feedback. A well integrated, functional website has the capability to do all of this, servicing every potential customer with an internet connection, providing, at the bare minimum, a stopgap when a salesman or agent is unavailable.As a business grows to meet these new larger scale demands, this can lead to the outsourcing of many traditional business functions such as marketing, tech support, even training. This outsourcing is often also done through online communication in order to cut down on overhead expenses. All in all, virtual business tactics often prove to be cheaper solutions than the typical face to face interactions old school business relied on. This isn’t to say business men and women are forced to deal with unfamiliar faces or practical strangers. The old adage “its not business, its personal” is unfairly exaggerated when its applied to virtual business and internet commerce. In today’s market, companies and clients can foster fully healthy, working relationships without wasting unnecessary time and resources on a less convenient rendezvous. Communication technology breakthroughs have allowed for advanced teleconferencing equipment and even live streaming video conferencing, as uninterrupted as it would be if it were just two people in a room.