Chapter 13. The Trading Assistant

Over the past few years, a new type of eBay business has emerged. This type of business exists to sell merchandise for other people—folks who are otherwise too busy or too intimidated to run their own eBay auctions. The clients agree to let the business sell their items on eBay on a consignment basis; when the item sells, the business takes a cut of the selling price.

You’ve probably seen some of these consignment resellers on eBay or even in your own town. eBay calls these resellers Trading Assistants (TAs); they’re also commonly known as drop-off stores, and they’re becoming a big business.