Ecommerce And Ebay Ideas From The Movies

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called “Spark an idea Thursday.” As part of this tradition, I’ll be sharing with you my experiences and interpretations for each week’s topic for those of you who sell products or services online.

I invite you to grab our image over there to the right and carry the tradition through to your own blog. If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

The theme of this week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is: Spark an Idea From The Movies.

Jenn and I have put our heads together again this week to come up with some ideas that will help you grow your ebay or ecommerce business.

From Jenn:

So, who loves a good chic flick?  Have you watched Devil Wears Prada? Maybe 27 Dresses?  OH, a really good one was Sex In The City. I can go on and on, especially about reality shows.  Make Me A Super Model, Project Runway, Fashion Show, America’s Next Top Model….yes – it’s all about fashion!

But what can you take away from a movie or reality show to build your business?

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords!

It’s all about who’s wearing the next hottest shoe, or the craziest outfit.  Did I ever mention how I purchased a trendy Barbie, who’s outfit was designed by a fashion wanna be designer on Project Runway?  It was the Keywords the designer used that made me a $125 profit on a Barbie Doll!  Paying attention to what trendy keywords are being used and what is new on the market can drive sales to your eBay store. How many of us know what the Obama girls favorite clothing line is?  Or what designer they were wearing when the President was sworn into office?  All keywords of items we can be sure.

It’s Usually Limited Production, Making it Hard To Find

With a new movie, comes new merchandise.  Usually limited production at that.  Hard to find items make huge profits on eBay.  Have you ever seen a Tim Gunn Bobble Head doll from Project Runway?  His famous phrase is “Make It Work”  If you were fortunate enough to find a Tim Gunn Bobble Head doll you would have two things in your favor. 1) They were limited production.  2) Using ‘Make It Work’ in your title brought you crazy bids!

Trends are going to drive your eBay sales.  Pick your passion and see how you can turn it into a profit!

From Michelle:

I’m not so much of a chic flick fan, as I am an action/ mystery/thriller, with a side order of comedy and sci-fi fan. My normal movie choices include almost anything by Will Smith, like I, Robot. Or maybe a service of Robin Williams in Patch Adams. But since having kids, I’ve also discovered that I have an affinity for animations (Thank you Pixar!), like Ratatouille.

I think we can learn a lot from Remy, the main character in Ratatouille, that can be applied to running our own ecommerce businesses. Let’s take a look at the basic premise of the move, as described in Wikipedia:

The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a Chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant’s garbage boy. 

Keep going even when no one else believes in you.

Poor Remy. His own father couldn’t see the brilliance of his aspirations or his talent. And yet Remy continued searching for ways to achieve his dream. First, it was trying out spices in the old woman’s kitchen. But when circumstances took him to the door of the French restaurant, he seized the opportunity to pursue his dream, even though he was just a rat.

This theme can be seen in Will Smith’s character Spooner, who believes the doctor didn’t really commit suicide, in spite of what everyone else thinks, and in Robin William’s chacter, the doctor Patch Adams. Patch believes that doctors should treat people, not diseases, and he continues this belief and acts accordingly, even when it almost gets him kicked out of medical school permanently.

Many small business owners have similar stories. For example, I interviewed a woman last year who developed an alcohol-free hand sanitizer — and spent 10 years promoting it. Her product now appears in stores across the United States. She persevered in spite of a seeming lack of success. In order to start and grow your business, you must persevere as well.

Take action!

Imagine if Remy had never fixed the soup! We wouldn’t have a movie, huh?

The same is true in I, Robot and Patch Adams. The main characters were both presented with a challenge, which they accepted and took action on. They faced adversity, yet they persevered.

Likewise, if you never take action on your business ideas, take a risk, face adversity, do what you know needs to be done, you’ll never even start an online business, much less build a successful one.

A few years ago, I new someone on Skype who had specific areas of talent that he could parlay into a business idea. But instead of getting down to work and building his business, he invested most of his time and extra money into courses on how to build a business. Granted, there is a time and place for learning and educational materials — but they should never replace action.

I’ve also known people who made mistakes in their businesses and took a public flaming for it. They caved in the face of this adversity and fled the work at home mom corner of the internet. What they didn’t realize is that opportunity is often found in adversity. Those who faced a bad reputation because of mistakes could have accepted responsibility for their actions and taken further action to prevent the mistakes from happening again. They could have rebuilt in spite of the flames, just as new grass grows almost immediately after a brush fire.

Many movies are fun to see and provide great entertainment. Some of them can also teach us valuable lessons about life, ecommerce and ebay.