Dad of four turned selling fish tanks on eBay into a million pound business
Peter Amos, 48, from Bexleyheath had an interest in the aquatic world since the age of nine and went on to have a fish house of around 40 tanks
SELLING products on eBay is an easy way to earn a bit of extra cash in your spare time, but this dad of four has used it to turn his small fish supply shop into a million pound business.
Peter Amos, 48, from Bexleyheath, started off Aquacadabra in 1992, before expanding to selling supplies on eBay in 2003.
Peter, who is part of an eBay millionaires' club that has more than 1,000 members in the UK, sells everything from fish tanks to filters and even food for our scaly friends.
Aquacadabra started as a small corner shop with just five employees.
But it has since expanded into a 8,000 sq ft warehouse, which includes a physical store with 22 members of staff to cope with demand.
So how exactly did Peter use eBay to make a splash in the industry?
According to the dad-of-four, eBay makes it easier to find customers without forking out a huge amount of money on a website and the marketing he would need to put behind that.
He said: "When shopping online, a lot of people tend to go to certain market places.
"So unless you're spending a lot of money on being ranked highly on Google, people are more likely to find your products on eBay.
"It also allows us to stock a huge selection of products. We have around 5,000 to 6,000 listings"
Of course, it's not the only factor contributing to Aquacadabra's success. Peter also attributes his growing turnover to reliable suppliers and to his team.
The dad-of-four said: "Many of the people working here have been with the company a long time, like Simon who first came on work experience about 24 years ago and is now my general manager."
Selling your things on eBay can be a big money earner, even if your items don't seem worth it.
How to start a succesful eBay business
HERE are some basic tips to begin:
- Join eBay and register as a business seller. If you're a trader - someone who buys things with the intention of selling them on - then you must .
- Do your homework. Carry out thorough research on other products and competitors to ensure you know your market inside out.
- Learn how eBay shopping works. Look at listings in different formats. Before you can successfully sell on eBay, you'll need to see how people on eBay buy.
- Start small. Give yourself the best chance of getting it right by focusing on a core range of products. You can scale up from there.
- Stand out from the crowd. Think about how you can optimize your listings to attract customers. Use the right keywords so that your products show up in searches and high-quality pictures to draw buyers in.
- Find good sourcing options. Locating good and reliable suppliers for your inventory is critical to your business' success.
- Put your customer first. Focus on offering customers a great service with speedy delivery and great communication so that they keep coming back.
- Remember there are fees. eBay will charge you a set monthly fee, depending on the size of your business and what you're selling. You can find how much you'll have to pay here
Earlier this year, we reported how you can make hundreds of pounds a year by selling your rubbish - even leftover loo roll tubes.
Obviously, eBay is not the only way to start a successful business.
Last week we revealed how a mum of two's quest to spend more time with her kids prompted her to launch her own beauty shop and it now has a healthy turnover of £130,000 a year.
SELLERS BEWARE Why you need to read this before selling ANYTHING on eBay
The Sun Online also spoke to a dad-of-two who quit banking job to set up children’s hairdressers and it makes £650,000 a year.
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