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[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

Omni

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Hi Ecom man, When you find a product with low competition: what tips or resources would you recommend to distinguish on whether the manufacturer is infringing on copyrights (and you shouldn't continue with this product) or if your competitor is also importing for wholesale (and you should order samples)? Thank you for all the tips and advice, excellent thread!
 
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Tehcasa

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I've had a few people ask me about drop shipping and I never recommend it. It is your feedback, website, and money on the line and you don't want it to be controlled by the whim of a shipper or shipping company.
Agreed
 

Tehcasa

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I've had a few people ask me about drop shipping and I never recommend it. It is your feedback, website, and money on the line and you don't want it to be controlled by the whim of a shipper or shipping company.
Agreed
I avoid low dollar products because shipping costs eat up a lot of your margins. Your eBay fees should be closer to 15% than 30% so thats another $1.70 profit per item. That totally changes your numbers. Personally I am not going to import a product to make $2 for each sale. It is a lot of time and effort for just $2. I prefer $15-20+ per sale.
Listen to his advice, its true.
 

10lapsdown

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Ok, so I've done it; all 57 pages! And now I feel like... I need to read them all again!
Seriously this thread has been awesome, thank you so much Ecom Man.
I have been searching and searching, found a few things and then realised that it's Chinese New Year... Nevermind, at least it gives me more time to research and look for solutions. One problem that is bothering me is the increase in ads from the major department and online stores. Has anyone else noticed this and have any comments? Is it just par for the course or a cause for concern?

Cheers
 
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barren92

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has anyone used the global shipping program on ebay? would it be better to just keep it domestic? i've been reading and some people say they repackage your items and results in sometimes damaged goods to the customer. granted it could result in more sales. but weighing in my feedback....ehhh im kind of iffy on this one.
 

Ron Dee

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I thought I just read on their website last negative feedback due to damaged and slow goods in the GSP will be removed. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
 

Tehcasa

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has anyone used the global shipping program on ebay? would it be better to just keep it domestic? i've been reading and some people say they repackage your items and results in sometimes damaged goods to the customer. granted it could result in more sales. but weighing in my feedback....ehhh im kind of iffy on this one.
Keep it domestic my friend.. its harder to evaluate your profit margins by having an international shipping method. also, there's a higher chance that your product will get damaged as the transportation is much longer and complicated.
 
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MIA

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has anyone used the global shipping program on ebay? would it be better to just keep it domestic? i've been reading and some people say they repackage your items and results in sometimes damaged goods to the customer. granted it could result in more sales. but weighing in my feedback....ehhh im kind of iffy on this one.
I have utilized the global shipping program more than once for buyers out of the US buying my items it worked great for me! It's just as fast and easy as creating a normal label and yet at the point where the item ships out of the country all that labeling/work is done for you and attached to your initial tracking number so you and your buyer can see its progress at any point. I know people scoff at the fees eBay takes but eBay provides not only the sales traffic, but also many automated (more or less) systems like this that help you get your feet wet. I'd encourage anyone to at least try it on a few listings.
 

KONIG

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I have been using it as well with no issues so far. My items are not really breakable so the distance/handling in shipping does not really affect them. If you have more fragile items I could see why you might be wary of shipping longer distances.
 

Ecom man

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has anyone used the global shipping program on ebay? would it be better to just keep it domestic? i've been reading and some people say they repackage your items and results in sometimes damaged goods to the customer. granted it could result in more sales. but weighing in my feedback....ehhh im kind of iffy on this one.
I have used the global shipping program and never really had any issues. As someone else said if your items are super fragile i would avoid it. The main issue is if damage is done the customer wouldn't be too happy about sending the item back internationally to return it to you.
 
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Ecom man

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I thought I just read on their website last negative feedback due to damaged and slow goods in the GSP will be removed. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
That is true... Sort of. They can leave you negatives and sometimes eBay is not very responsive in getting them removed quickly. I had one person leave a neutral from using the global shipment program and eBay never removed it at all.
 

FLTechGuy

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This is a great post @Ecom man,

I have flipped stuff on Craigslist and Ebay before and made some nice money on the side (but it was hit and miss, depended on garage sales etc. sometimes their was nothing for months) However, since I sold used items I have never sold new items.

I have spent 2 weeks looking for hours every day for a product to sell locally and maybe on ebay and keep hitting dead ends over and over again :banghead:. While time is a luxury for no one my "time" is shorter than most people due to my OHS and health and I don't want to waste lots of it hitting my head repeatedly into a wall. :headbanger:

I am not sure what categories to avoid except electronics. Looking through this and several other postings Everyone is saying avoid Electronics.

I understand why as I have an I.T. Background (computer repair) but that is also the problem because that is the only thing I am really familiar with. I live in a college town so most college students are electronics focused.

Any suggestions as to what categories someone should look at (toys, housewares, sporting goods) and does "electronics" mean just computers or even headphones and the like?

I just need some direction...

As they say "the teacher appears when the student is ready" i'm ready and wanting to change instead of wasting whats left of my short life on a 9-5 job that doesnt pay me enough to even take a decent vacation.

Any help is appreciated... Thank you :)
 
Last edited:

Rinzler

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This is a great post @Ecom man,

I have flipped stuff on Craigslist and Ebay before and made some nice money on the side (but it was hit and miss, depended on garage sales etc. sometimes their was nothing for months) However, since I sold used items I have never sold new items.

I have spent 2 weeks looking for hours every day for a product to sell locally and maybe on ebay and keep hitting dead ends over and over again :banghead:. While time is a luxury for no one my "time" is shorter than most people due to my OHS and health and I don't want to waste lots of it hitting my head repeatedly into a wall. :headbanger:

I am not sure what categories to avoid except electronics. Looking through this and several other postings Everyone is saying avoid Electronics.

I understand why as I have an I.T. Background (computer repair) but that is also the problem because that is the only thing I am really familiar with. I live in a college town so most college students are electronics focused.

Any suggestions as to what categories someone should look at (toys, housewares, sporting goods) and does "electronics" mean just computers or even headphones and the like?

I just need some direction...

As they say "the teacher appears when the student is ready" i'm ready and wanting to change instead of wasting whats left of my short life on a 9-5 job that doesnt pay me enough to even take a decent vacation.

Any help is appreciated... Thank you :)

Not sure if this will help you too much, but for genuine electronics you could always check the auctions on Liquidation.com
The only "issue" is that a lot of the items you'll get from there are returns or refurbished, but with enough searching I'm sure you can end up with a couple great deals. I remember when I first got on Aliexpress, I was also looking at electronics and quickly learned a LOT of the stuff on that site isn't genuine. Don't beat yourself up too much! I'm currently going through the same thing since I'm trying to branch out and locate some new products instead of the ones I've been selling.
 

AntEmpire

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This is a great post @Ecom man,

I have flipped stuff on Craigslist and Ebay before and made some nice money on the side (but it was hit and miss, depended on garage sales etc. sometimes their was nothing for months) However, since I sold used items I have never sold new items.

I have spent 2 weeks looking for hours every day for a product to sell locally and maybe on ebay and keep hitting dead ends over and over again :banghead:. While time is a luxury for no one my "time" is shorter than most people due to my OHS and health and I don't want to waste lots of it hitting my head repeatedly into a wall. :headbanger:

I am not sure what categories to avoid except electronics. Looking through this and several other postings Everyone is saying avoid Electronics.

I understand why as I have an I.T. Background (computer repair) but that is also the problem because that is the only thing I am really familiar with. I live in a college town so most college students are electronics focused.

Any suggestions as to what categories someone should look at (toys, housewares, sporting goods) and does "electronics" mean just computers or even headphones and the like?

I just need some direction...

As they say "the teacher appears when the student is ready" i'm ready and wanting to change instead of wasting whats left of my short life on a 9-5 job that doesnt pay me enough to even take a decent vacation.

Any help is appreciated... Thank you :)

Same here. Electronics is really what I know best, specifically video games. I learned how to sell on both ebay and Craigslist liquidating all my old games and gently used electronics. Now that those are all gone, I'm reading every importing/selling guide and posts I can find and scouring Alibaba and other sites looking for something decent to sell. But I don't know what I should be looking for. I'm mostly just going through random categories and trying to guess what people may need or like. Real life isn't giving me any hints. Still, I'm not giving up. I hope something click for me soon, but in the meantime my search goes on...
 
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Tri

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I just wanted to get every ones thoughts on purchasing a pre-existing ebay business that already has over 100% (>1000) feed back. It has a stand alone website and social media page etc they want 25k including stock for it. And not only this business but purchasing a pre existing ebay store in general...

What do people think the pros and cons would be? Associated risks? Tips for due diligence?

Thanks guys, learning lots from this thread!

PS ive also started importing and have sold over $200 worth of stock over the past 2 weeks - not much but more than what I would have sold if I hadn't started!
 

Omni

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What's the value of the inventory in that 25k purchase? The 25k you'd be paying for is mainly marketing and having an established reputation to boost sales. But if you don't know how to research and replenish your inventory with in demand products, the storefront will be useless
 

Ecom man

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This is a great post @Ecom man,

I have flipped stuff on Craigslist and Ebay before and made some nice money on the side (but it was hit and miss, depended on garage sales etc. sometimes their was nothing for months) However, since I sold used items I have never sold new items.

I have spent 2 weeks looking for hours every day for a product to sell locally and maybe on ebay and keep hitting dead ends over and over again :banghead:. While time is a luxury for no one my "time" is shorter than most people due to my OHS and health and I don't want to waste lots of it hitting my head repeatedly into a wall. :headbanger:

I am not sure what categories to avoid except electronics. Looking through this and several other postings Everyone is saying avoid Electronics.

I understand why as I have an I.T. Background (computer repair) but that is also the problem because that is the only thing I am really familiar with. I live in a college town so most college students are electronics focused.

Any suggestions as to what categories someone should look at (toys, housewares, sporting goods) and does "electronics" mean just computers or even headphones and the like?

I just need some direction...

As they say "the teacher appears when the student is ready" i'm ready and wanting to change instead of wasting whats left of my short life on a 9-5 job that doesnt pay me enough to even take a decent vacation.

Any help is appreciated... Thank you :)
The main issue with electronics is tons of fakes are out there and quality can be a huge issue. Since you know electronics (how to repair them) there is probably less risk for you to import them as you can fix any that are broken. The other issue with electronics is they are so popular the competition is super intense. Everyone knows electronics and so margins normally are not anywhere close to profitable for someone selling smaller amounts.

Since you have background in computer repair I would look at buying broken or salvage electronics on Liquidation.com. That is of course assuming you have the storage space and time to fix products and then resell them. I did that with broken iPod touches when I first started with all of this. I purchased about 30 of them that had broken screens etc and replaced the screens and fixed them. I think I tripled my investment in about 30 days.
 
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Ecom man

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I just wanted to get every ones thoughts on purchasing a pre-existing ebay business that already has over 100% (>1000) feed back. It has a stand alone website and social media page etc they want 25k including stock for it. And not only this business but purchasing a pre existing ebay store in general...

What do people think the pros and cons would be? Associated risks? Tips for due diligence?

Thanks guys, learning lots from this thread!

PS ive also started importing and have sold over $200 worth of stock over the past 2 weeks - not much but more than what I would have sold if I hadn't started!
I would not spend the money if I were in your shoes. The difference in sales between having 100 feedback and 900 is almost nil. You can set up a website on shopify.com in a few hours time. You can build an ebay account to 1000 feedback in a year or less most likely. They are probably way overcharging you for their merchandise too.

If I were to start it all over right now.... I would start a brand new eBay account and new website simultaneously. I would promote my website to each person who buys on eBay. ( business cards etc in each package) The learning involved with starting from scratch is far more valuable in your future than getting a few hundred feedback and an already set up website.
 

Tri

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Thankyou Omni and Ecom_man for getting back to me. Even though I haven't got that many products to sell - I am currently building a site for the long term with weebly, I might have a look at shopify. How do you go about quantifying your products? At the moment I have a few random products but no real theme or niche.
 

The Grind

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After making my first bulk order of 110 pieces, I'm only selling on ebay.

I'm not getting any sales, 0. Ads have been up for over a week. Worst, I'm not getting any page views. So it's not even that people are clicking and not buying, people arent even clicking on my ad to look at it. I'm in a popular saturated niche I suppose.

I bought a camera and lighting, took good pics. Pics look good, free shipping, return policy. I think my keywords are good for the title. What do you suggest I do?
 

KONIG

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did you test out how the item sells on ebay first? as in buy 5-10 pieces of it and sell those to see how fast they sell?
 

The Grind

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did you test out how the item sells on ebay first? as in buy 5-10 pieces of it and sell those to see how fast they sell?
Yes, I sold 15 pieces with very bad ads, over the span of about 1 month. They are good products, and are definitely in demand. I also put my prices even lower than the samples I sold.
 
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Ecom man

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Thankyou Omni and Ecom_man for getting back to me. Even though I haven't got that many products to sell - I am currently building a site for the long term with weebly, I might have a look at shopify. How do you go about quantifying your products? At the moment I have a few random products but no real theme or niche.
You can have a website that sells a variety of products. Just set up ads for each product that direct to those specific product pages and you should be fine.
 

Ecom man

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After making my first bulk order of 110 pieces, I'm only selling on ebay.

I'm not getting any sales, 0. Ads have been up for over a week. Worst, I'm not getting any page views. So it's not even that people are clicking and not buying, people arent even clicking on my ad to look at it. I'm in a popular saturated niche I suppose.

I bought a camera and lighting, took good pics. Pics look good, free shipping, return policy. I think my keywords are good for the title. What do you suggest I do?
It is hard to say exactly what the issue is without knowing specifics. Are you the cheapest person with that product? A lot of people sort by price lowest first so if you aren't the cheapest or within 5 or so listing you won't get those buyers. Same thing for best match, if you aren't the top or 5 or so from it you won't get the clicks. You can always swap over to just running auctions for the products. If they are super popular just saturated with sellers that is a sure way to get views and bids. People sort most auctions by time ending soonest so you will climb to the top of the page as your item ends.
 

The Grind

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It is hard to say exactly what the issue is without knowing specifics. Are you the cheapest person with that product? A lot of people sort by price lowest first so if you aren't the cheapest or within 5 or so listing you won't get those buyers. Same thing for best match, if you aren't the top or 5 or so from it you won't get the clicks. You can always swap over to just running auctions for the products. If they are super popular just saturated with sellers that is a sure way to get views and bids. People sort most auctions by time ending soonest so you will climb to the top of the page as your item ends.
I'll gladly PM you if your willing to give me direct feedback on my listing.
So you're saying list auctions so my listing comes up on first page as the time is almost up, and you can list the same item multiple times when your doing auctions right, you can't put the quantity, so just put a ton of auction listings for the same item?
 
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Ecom man

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I'll gladly PM you if your willing to give me direct feedback on my listing.
So you're saying list auctions so my listing comes up on first page as the time is almost up, and you can list the same item multiple times when your doing auctions right, you can't put the quantity, so just put a ton of auction listings for the same item?
You can certainly PM me with any questions you might have.

Yes, just do multiple auctions. If the product has high demand you will normally get real close or even more than the cheapest buy it now listings. I would space out my auctions at least a few hours apart so you are not cutting your own throat. You also want to make sure that they don't end at odd hours. (Early morning hours or mornings on Saturday/Sunday)
 

Wizard

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After making my first bulk order of 110 pieces, I'm only selling on ebay.

I'm not getting any sales, 0. Ads have been up for over a week. Worst, I'm not getting any page views. So it's not even that people are clicking and not buying, people arent even clicking on my ad to look at it. I'm in a popular saturated niche I suppose.

I bought a camera and lighting, took good pics. Pics look good, free shipping, return policy. I think my keywords are good for the title. What do you suggest I do?

Part of the game with EBay is its all about listing as many items as you can. That gives you more exposure... so auctions (like Ecom said) and multiple listings -- this could be your personal items or sourcing really cheap items to sell. You should look into scaling on the same platform but its not advised.
 

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