I think there is a lesson in there somewhere, perhaps you're just missing it.
Please point out the lesson instead of a bunch of handwaving to save face for Jason Fried.
Please point out the lesson instead of a bunch of handwaving to save face for Jason Fried.
- how to write good, compelling copy. This is one particular skill that is tremendously hard to learn, yet valuable to possess. It includes things like selecting pictures, figuring out what information to include and how to A/B test your ads.
- how to deal with difficult customers.
- how to answer questions when you're dealing with someone who really does not understand. "So, if I get this SIM card I can play the Sims on my phone?"
- how to figure out what goods will sell versus sit in inventory for years.
You are learning what does and does not work. When you try that with a real project (ie your business) you will have already learned a lot from repeatedly selling an ipod using different methods on ebay.
The key problem for most people is that they are coming from a base of zero - ie, have never sold anything in their life - is that they can't bring themselves to ask for the sale. A lot of people are uncomfortable with sales transaction beyond those which require you to walk to a register and present goods for purchase. A lot of people have a baked-in attitude that money is evil and trying to make it is a dirty business. All these things have to be overcome to be successful as an entrepreneur.
Practicing selling on ebay requires you to write copy where you ask for the sale. Closing a $150,000 sale requires you to ask for the sale. Both sales require you to communicate with your buyer, to know your subject, to write clearly and to know when you are wasting your time.
Every sale is not identical, even on ebay, because each time a new customer appears with different needs and a different level of understanding.
I once bought a bulk lot of electronic equipment at live auction, then sold all the individual pieces on ebay, making a tidy little profit. This predated my efforts to sell anything online, and I learnt an enormous amount. I learnt that some people will pay silly prices for things, maybe because they need it right now, maybe because they live remotely and can't drive to the shop, maybe because they don't know the value of things.
I learnt how to write copy that got the point across, communicated my trustworthiness as a seller, and yet communicated the important details without reading like a spec sheet.
I even managed to sell a clearly broken LCD as a bet with one of my friends, who bet me I could sell it, and I bet nobody would buy it. Someone paid me $40 for an LCD with a massive crack and bleeding in it. I have no idea why - perhaps they wanted the case or some other part of it.
I lost that bet and learnt a good lesson in the meantime, which is don't presume to know who or what your market is. And that selling, like any other skill, requires repetition, practice and learning to get good at it.
It's all basically the same ideas just applied differently at varying scales.
Example - "There's another lesson in here: Charging for something makes you want to make it better. I've found this to be really important. It's a great lesson if you want to learn how to make money."
Do you just not like this guy or something? There is no hand waving going on. Just trying to learn something from a successful businessman who's willing to share his experiences.
The only rebuttal here is from someone who was using bulk discount arbitrage to make a profit. This is not a very good lesson to learn for the amount of time and effort you put into it, especially when you aren't even making the product "better".
And of course I don't like this guy. He sells himself as a business guru like those get rich quick guys, and he is famously arrogant for criticizing the value of other companies like Facebook.
Also, if you don't like him that's fine but why not still try to learn something? The reality is in life they are going to be plenty of people you don't like, plenty. If you can't learn from others because of your own personal bias you're going to hold yourself back big time.
Why do I have to keep repeating myself? No one gave an example of how you can feasibly mark up a commodity like an iPod to get anywhere above the 10% Paypal and Ebay fee except when you buy in bulk. And when you buy in bulk you risk a lot more than 1 iPod.
And I am not arguing about this because he is Jason Fried. I am arguing about it because this is bad advice.
The point is to try and figure out how to make a profit on your own. Its not to ask someone else how they did it and just copy it. If you copy someone elses homework it does not make you any smarter, you gotta do the homework yourself.
Don't be so afraid to fail. If you try it and your not very good, its ok! Just try again and again, you'll improve. But looking for someone to give you the answer for this is not a recipe for success, its cheating yourself out of an opportunity to learn something new.