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[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

GUTTA BOB

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Can you make a profit while paying them 10% PayPal fee?
If you can, then... screw it.
Pay the 10%
Go make money man.

Otherwise, Western Union is a possibility.

Someone in this thread was scammed using Western Union... so that option should be a last resort.
 
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barren92

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how much do you guys in us pay for shipping domestic?



sure did

well i took ecom mans advice and have been using usps priority flat rate mail. for the item that i just received it's a pretty small item so its about $5 and some change i offer that as free shipping to have to the buyer in 3 days or less. which is a really big advantage for me because all the other listings are either from china and if they aren't its a us seller with economy shipping that the seller charges the buyer.

i think i remember seeing your posts earlier in the thread. any luck with shipping charges there?
 

mosdef

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well i took ecom mans advice and have been using usps priority flat rate mail. for the item that i just received it's a pretty small item so its about $5 and some change i offer that as free shipping to have to the buyer in 3 days or less. which is a really big advantage for me because all the other listings are either from china and if they aren't its a us seller with economy shipping that the seller charges the buyer.

i think i remember seeing your posts earlier in the thread. any luck with shipping charges there?


found that i can ship in worldwide from sweden for about 7 dollars. Problems is that its without tracking so a customer can take the package and i got no proof of him doing it.
 

barren92

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found that i can ship in worldwide from sweden for about 7 dollars. Problems is that its without tracking so a customer can take the package and i got no proof of him doing it.

is there a way to get tracking at all?
if so how much more?
 
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exclusives88

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How has the beauty products been doing? I was looking at this category myself but I am not sure if I would trust these things from china. The worse thing is if you sell a product and ended up harming the customer... I have been looking at non consumable products myself.

I've gotten good feedback. I only got 2 negative feedback on the 100+ I've sold.
 

samuraijack

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when searching on eBay for competitors, do you search the general term that a consumer would search, or the exact item name?

ie. "car vacuum" vs "ABC-123 car vacuum" ?

There might be only one or two sellers of that exact product, but my listing would never been seen since there are so many other products in the same category.

So as a new seller I need to find items who's general category they belong in don't have many competitors?
 
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Ecom man

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When is it if you don't mind telling me?
I believe it is the 18th through the 28th or somewhere in that general time frame. I am just going as I cant order at all in February to be sure I have enough on hand to cover the sales numbers.
 

Ecom man

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Another quick question: The Startup Bros article walks you through how to find a product and then a supplier.

It says to check "Gold Supplier," "On-site Check," "Assessed Supplier," and "Escrow." The problem is I don't see the "Escrow" option, so I'm guessing Alibaba has since updated their platform? How do you get around that? Do you have to ask about Escrow or just tell them you only do PayPal?
I believe Alibaba made it where everyone is required to take escrow now. People still skirt the rules but technically to sell on Alibaba they have to take Alibaba's escrow service. I just tell new suppliers up front that I can only pay through Alibaba's escrow or through paypal. If possible pay using your credit card as well so you have the cc protection on top of Alibaba or Paypal.
 
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Ecom man

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I found a cheap supplier. Problem is, they want me to pay by paypal and they want to charge 10% fee! Apparently its company policy when I asked. Should I just abandon them or renegotiate to 5%? I am thinking renegotiate and if they don't budge, then just call it quits altogether.
If margins can take it don't get tripped up by pennies making dollars. I can probably save a few pennies per product by ordering from new and unproven suppliers. I would rather spend the few cents and know my products are quality and I'm dealing with honest suppliers than try and save a few bucks and lose more in the long run.
 

Ecom man

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so i sold a item to one in norway, and shipped it same day. The customer hasnt filled that he recieved my order so ebay is holding the money. But he hasnt compained that he didnt recieve it either? And its been about 3 weeks now. I tried to contact the buyer but no respeonse in 1 week. Will i get my money if the buyer dont act?

The buyer has 250 good reviews and 0 bad
I only ship overseas using a eBay's global shipment program for this reason. As soon as it arrives at eBay's shipment center my end of the deal is done. I don't have to worry about overseas tracking/ shipping etc.

You will eventually get the money released in Paypal after a certain period of time has passed. If I was in your shoes I would just sell domestically until your Paypal holds have stopped.
 

Ecom man

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Any ideas if an Alibaba seller has trade assurance means that basically they cannot scam you or alibaba will compensate you themselves ?
Nothing on Alibaba means they cant scam you. Do your due diligence and only pay through Escrow or Paypal and you will have less of a chance of being scammed. New suppliers can be a crap shoot sometimes.
 
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Ecom man

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First of all, Ecomman I want to thank you for all the information you gave out in this thread. I read every single post here took notes and decided I want to start an importing business as well.

Now my question I want to do some more product research (with or without terapeak doesn't matter) but in december sales are much higher then the average month due to Christmas Sales so it's hard to figure out if a product is worth it. Do you have an idea how much higher sales are in december, so should I divide sales by 2,3,... to have the average number of sold items per month? I think I can't rely on January sales numbers either as this is the worst month in terms of sales right?
Are november sales already higher then the average month due to christmas sales or is that too early?
Don't rely on November or December sales numbers as they are greatly skewed by day after Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping. Every other month's number should be relatively accurate in what you can expect to sell.
 

Ecom man

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when searching on eBay for competitors, do you search the general term that a consumer would search, or the exact item name?

ie. "car vacuum" vs "ABC-123 car vacuum" ?

There might be only one or two sellers of that exact product, but my listing would never been seen since there are so many other products in the same category.

So as a new seller I need to find items who's general category they belong in don't have many competitors?
I always try to look from the viewpoint of a customer. Are they going to search for ABC vacuum or just search for vacuum? If you are selling vacuum bags they will search by specific make and model. If you are selling the vacuum themselves you will be competing with all the vacuums available. I made that mistake with kitchen faucets a year or so ago. Sales were good and margins were good so I ordered them. They are still sitting unsold lost in the thousands of listings on eBay.
 

Ecom man

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I've gotten good feedback. I only got 2 negative feedback on the 100+ I've sold.
2 negatives per 100 sold isn't stellar to be honest. 98% positive doesn't look so good as a seller. Negatives are a part of life but if possible learn from the negatives and avoid them in the future. I have 99.9% positive feedback and the negatives are from nut cases. I will do just about anything to make and keep customers happy. Your feedback is the difference between getting sales and not many times.
 
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samuraijack

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Spent last 3 days (6+ hours each day) looking for viable products. Basically checking all the sourcing websites, and heading over to eBay/Amazon to check for competition.

Is it normal to take this long to find at least one good product?
 

Ecom man

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Spent last 3 days (6+ hours each day) looking for viable products. Basically checking all the sourcing websites, and heading over to eBay/Amazon to check for competition.

Is it normal to take this long to find at least one good product?
The time it takes to find products can of course vary considerably from person to person. Finding viable products to sell is one of the most difficult parts of this business. It is also the point where many people give up because it is "too hard". Sometimes going to the mall, searching Pinterest, etc can help give you some ideas.
 

Walter Hay

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I believe Alibaba made it where everyone is required to take escrow now. People still skirt the rules but technically to sell on Alibaba they have to take Alibaba's escrow service. I just tell new suppliers up front that I can only pay through Alibaba's escrow or through paypal. If possible pay using your credit card as well so you have the cc protection on top of Alibaba or Paypal.
Any ideas if an Alibaba seller has trade assurance means that basically they cannot scam you or alibaba will compensate you themselves ?
Nothing on Alibaba means they cant scam you. Do your due diligence and only pay through Escrow or Paypal and you will have less of a chance of being scammed. New suppliers can be a crap shoot sometimes.
Alibaba have been making some changes lately and because I am registered as a supplier (but I don't list anything for sale) I get all the latest information.

Here are some of the current rules relating to safe payment.
  • Escrow is now called Secure Payment, but the rules are unchanged. Suppliers are not required to accept escrow (Secure Payment). It is optional unless they are advertising in the Wholesale platform and to be sure to get escrow protection you must use the "Buy Now" button. It works just like Aliexpress' Escrow service and is full of loopholes that suppliers know how to exploit so that you can lose your money even if you make a claim.
  • Trade Assurance seems to be a far better system, but it is also full of loopholes. It is essential to read all the rules and regulations as well as the Terms and Conditions and the FAQs, otherwise you will not know some essential things required , including costly ($250) inspections prior to your order being shipped. I have recently written about this in my AMA.
You are absolutely right when you say "Nothing on Alibaba means they cant scam you."
 
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AceCobra1

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Do you guys know if I choose to ship by sea, an ocean freight as the women called it, she said it will take about 30 days... I thought it took closer to 60 days? Also, any ideas? If I choose that option, do I need to drive over to collect my products or is there a service that would deliver to my door? I thought the sea option is like posting parcels over by sea where it is a door to door service.... or am I mistaken?

I was quoted $290 as the cheapest air alternative and $90 by sea lol
 

BigBrianC

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Do you guys typically have more success rebranding as your own brand or does it come to not matter that much, or even hurt? If you do rebrand, at what point do you do so?
 

Ecom man

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Do you guys know if I choose to ship by sea, an ocean freight as the women called it, she said it will take about 30 days... I thought it took closer to 60 days? Also, any ideas? If I choose that option, do I need to drive over to collect my products or is there a service that would deliver to my door? I thought the sea option is like posting parcels over by sea where it is a door to door service.... or am I mistaken?

I was quoted $290 as the cheapest air alternative and $90 by sea lol
If it is shipped by sea the price quoted is normally to the nearest port and then you are responsible to pay to ship it from there or go and get it personally.
 
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Walter Hay

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Do you guys know if I choose to ship by sea, an ocean freight as the women called it, she said it will take about 30 days... I thought it took closer to 60 days? Also, any ideas? If I choose that option, do I need to drive over to collect my products or is there a service that would deliver to my door? I thought the sea option is like posting parcels over by sea where it is a door to door service.... or am I mistaken?

I was quoted $290 as the cheapest air alternative and $90 by sea lol
Before giving anything like a specific answer, we need to know: Place of shipment, country (or port) of delivery, shipment weight, shipment dimensions.

No, shipment by sea is not door to door unless pre-arranged.
 

Walter Hay

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If it is shipped by sea the price quoted is normally to the nearest port and then you are responsible to pay to ship it from there or go and get it personally.
Sorry Ecom man, I am not trying to hijack your thread, but I think AceCobra1 is facing a serious problem, and your answer had not come in until a moment after I clicked on Post Reply.
Walter
 

exclusives88

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2 negatives per 100 sold isn't stellar to be honest. 98% positive doesn't look so good as a seller. Negatives are a part of life but if possible learn from the negatives and avoid them in the future. I have 99.9% positive feedback and the negatives are from nut cases. I will do just about anything to make and keep customers happy. Your feedback is the difference between getting sales and not many times.


Thanks for the response. I have 100% positive feedback. The 2 negative comments were written saying it did not work for them or it was difficult to take off. They still gave me positive feedback, just negative/neutral comments. Sorry for the confusion. I agree with you that customer satisfaction is the most important
 
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aa610

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Finding stuff to sell really is tough. I've done over the years but I came across those products by chance, not actively looking for them.

The biggest pain is digging through the Amazon sub categories. I wish they could just list them all on one huge page.

Also, finding the good stuff that is actually generic is also a challenge. I didn't realize how many of these items were actually brands. I would expect to see that in the toys section but not in some others.
 

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