Ebay

One place I like to go to for inspiration is ebay (and ebay Australia). I browse through the categories of things that I make, especially looking at those sellers who do it as a business, not just those people flogging off some old stuff they don't want anymore. I like to see what other people are creating, how they promote their business and how they price their products.

I don't do this to plagarise, in fact I can't remember the last time I actually saw something I liked so much I'd consider bidding on it, I do it as research. I live in a remote area, so it can be difficult to get access to other people creating and selling in my areas of interest. ebay gives me access to a whole community of businesses and people that I don't otherwise have access to.

Anyway, just a suggestion for other people who may be feeling isolated but wanting to research their field. Maybe you are thinking - "I wonder if I could actually make a living selling my art/jewellery/dog collars/ironing board covers/whatever" - there are alot of people making a comfortable living just selling via ebay. Take a browse, monitor some auctions to see if they sell and for how much. How many bids did they get? How long was the item listed for, does it make a difference? Is it worth paying to be a featured item? See - there's a lot of info there if you look.