Hi Richard,
Another thing you might want to try is selling things from around your home. This is one of the best ways to start out! You get to start selling without any need to spend on products; you get to practice on your selling skills and discover a technique that works best for you plus you get to work on your feedback especially when you are selling on auction sites like eBay.
Once you have have exposed yourself and know how to go about selling products online, then that would be the best time to spend your 1k :)
You might want to check out the following and choose which one best suits you - Addoway, Bonanza, eBay, eCrater and eBid to name a few.
Hope this helps!