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I came across this thread after searching for a way to .csv import items into Prestashop, that should give you some kind of indication of how things are.
It's extremely hard for new people to jump on eBay and start making money. Trial and Error is a huge part of a starting phase of any business, and eBay does not allow it. Accidently send three people the wrong items within your first 3 months because PayPal Multiorder shipping confused the postage label addresses of your customers? You're screwed. A customer orders a size 3 shoe that is too large for their child and just gives you bad feedback because they don't know how the feedback system works? You're screwed. I could probably name a thousand examples.
First off, eBay doesn't want to be the Flea Market of the internet anymore, they want to be Amazon. The CEO has clearly said this. This is why new sellers struggle their first 6 months because new sellers can only sell 10 items a month, and then maybe 25, and then maybe 100 - which is where Most of eBay users are limited to. Even people that have been on eBay since 1999.
eBay, as of right now, is All about Volume. There are very few things you can sell on there for a really good profit. If you find something with a great profit, chances are you might only sell this item once a month. I follow the 80-20 rule with eBay, where 80% of my items are items that sell fast but offer a low profit 20% of my items are what I call "Perceived Value" which means that I either have no competition and set the price to whatever I want, or are simply items that are high profit, low volume. My 80% is what carries my business and what made me a millionaire, it's the 20% that allowed me to grow my 80% and become even more profitable. This might be hard to understand, so I'll put it like this:
Hello Kitty Earbud HeadPhones sell for 2.49, which nets me .35 cents after its all said and done. But, I sell 10 of these a day, which is 300 a month. This is $105.
Apple iPod Fitness Band sell for 3.26, which nets me .29 cents. I sell 130 of these a month. This is $37.70 a month.
So now I've made $105 + $37 = $142 - I take 10% of this which is $14.2 and pay overhead expenses and myself, and the rest I can use to invest in a couple more items that might have a profit of $50 per item, but only sells once a month with little to no competition.
So, from these two examples you see that how important volume is. Sure getting on there and selling an item once a month for a $50 profit is great, it's not reliable. Competition swoops in, and next thing you know you've invested $5,000 in inventory of these items thinking you were going to turn that 5k into 15k, and now you are selling them just to get rid of them and only getting back half of what you spent.
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