Have you ever thought of starting a home business, with no capital investment and virtually no risk? Does that sound unreal? An online auction business actually involves no capital and bears very little risk. Reading the following facts might help you sense an opportunity. · Low-cost, no risk · New kind of business opportunity · 15% of the people using the Internet have tried out online auctions · Lots of actively seeking, targeted traffic · No special technical skills required to start one · Profitable But don’t get us wrong, an online auction business is not a “get rich quick” scheme; like any other business, this too needs your time and energy to become a success. So, are you ready to give it a serious thought? Consider these five steps that will help you build a website for an online auction business: 1. Surf the web: It is advisable to do some homework to understand the ground reality, hence spend time surfing a few auction sites. Look at the various items on display. Understand which products are getting more bids and what kind of key words give better results. Check if the website has a photo gallery that show items when bidders browse categories. Do not miss seeing the completed items section which will help you know which item was sold at what price. This will help you determine if the products you’re interested in have a market and a big enough profit margin. 2. Find a focus: This is the most important step, wherein you decide what type of business to start. Once you are through with surfing the web, you will have an idea of which items you should feature on your auction. Make a list of all those items that look interesting from the point of view of an online auction business. 3. Set up an office: It doesn’t cost much to get started on the site, but you need to be well organized. Firstly, you need a decent computer with a fast internet connection along with a digital camera, scanner, printer and necessary software. It’s equally important to have a storage area to match the volume of your business. 4. List your auctions: It's time for the nitty-gritty. Let us now understand the mechanism of a bidding war. Your titles and gallery photos are what entice a bidder to view your auction. Choose key words to attract searchers, or even pay extra for an expert to do it for you. It’s equally important to update the "completed items" section. Research each and every item and describe the good and not so good features of every piece. There are different types of pricing options, like fixed-pricing, reserve-pricing and Dutch auctions; use your judgment. 5. Don’t ignore customer service: Ignore customer service at your peril. This is of vital importance and will make the difference between boom and bust. Always ask your buyers for feedback, as this will keep you in touch with their expectations. It also helps you analyze the level of customer satisfaction. There are certain things that you should try and avoid in an online auction business website like poor descriptions, scary shipping prices and items with low demand.