eBay is a greatest gift of the Internet is free marketplace. The ability for anyone to start a business with little or no capital you doesn’t need a college education or a business school degree. You don't have to have a lineage in retailing, nor any experience in the computer sciences. It's the last frontier for a shot at making it, financially speaking that is. The Internet has it all. Sure knowing a programming language will help you. And yes, a college degree or an MBA will help to propel you along.

Branding and name recognition are sought after by merchants and marketers both online and off. Some names have gotten so big that they’re now used as verbs, such as "Google", "Photoshop" and, yes, "EBay". On a smaller scale, you can get your personal name recognition by registering a custom domain name and using it to promote your EBay stores and auctions.

What I'm talking about is the ability to have an idea and act upon it without all of the baggage that accompanies most business start ups. I chose to write this article in our section on EBay for a specific reason. eBay, in my estimation, represents the foundation of all that is entrepreneurial about the Internet. Here are a few reasons why:

·         Set up shop in minutes. You can't do that with any other type of brick and mortar business.

·         Create a "virtual store" overnight with a buying customer base worldwide.

·         Transact a sale with a complete unknown and get a guaranteed payment in any currency, with just about any type of credit card or check. (Free PayPal account needed.)

One of the biggest issues in a small business is getting good information about your niche or industry type and understanding what your customers need and want. In the virtual Internet world you can get that type of information readily if you know where to look. One thing about the Internet is that if you look hard enough you can always find free information. For example you can go to eBay Pulse to find out what people are buying. It's free and it's on eBay's site. For wholesale sources we recommend World Wide Brands because they are a recognized site by eBay, they are reputable and they provide you with a lot of information.