[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[Ecom man]

Thanks for the response Ecom man! Do you ever offer a warranty on your products? For example, a think I read somewhere that someone recommended offering a lifetime warranty in their description on their product as so many people forget about it a month or two after they purchase the item.

Also, what do you think of a product that weighs anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds (depending on the model) and is approximately 12"x12"x17"? Is that too big (product would be priced between $45 - $65 depending on model)? If not, what would be the best way to ship to customers and how much should I figure cost to be (I live in Illinois)? Finally, I'm assuming a shipping cost of $238.00 for five samples is high (the seller is quoting $5.95 a kilogram).

Thanks again!

I say in my listing that I "stand behind my products 100%". I will replace a defective or broken item with no time limit on that. I don't have a specific warranty per se but I fix any problem with my items. Having a lifetime warranty would certainly put some people more at ease buying from you.

The size and weight is really only an issue because of the increased cost in shipping. If the item will fit in a large flat rate box then you are looking at $15 for USPS Priority Shipping. I would do some further research based on the weight and size and what way you are sending the item. I live in Iowa and the most expensive places for me to ship are Alaska, Hawaii, and California. If you can't use the flat rate boxes figure out your total shipping costs to those places before ordering the item for resale.

 

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[Ecom man]

I run a small gym clothing business and have been having problems tying down a good reliable supplier, however I may have found one pending samples being made. Most of them are in Pakistan, which they don't have Paypal there, the ones that do are set up by someone outside of Pakistan I believe.

Anyway, I am too struggling with trying to find the best way to pay for samples. Like many people here, a lot of suppliers do say Western Union etc however like Ecom man says it is best to get a feel for the company before sending anything (response time, website, how many years of gold membership etc). I have used Paypal before but also successfully paid twice using Western Union. The way I work with this current supplier is I send them a screenshot of the Western Union confirmation of the amount being paid, however I blank out the MTCN or part of the MTCN which they ultimately need to to collect the money. Once my samples have been made and pictures of the sample have been sent over of said item with print etc, I then send the full MTCN.

This may help others, it may not depending on what items you are getting. As my items are clothing and requires them to actually create it with my spec I can see that they have taken the time to do the work asked, it also allows me to get a heads up of the quality before I actually receive it.

I do avoid western union and would never advise anyone to use them with a supplier you aren't familiar with. Alibaba has an escrow service that all sellers are supposed to allow buyers to use. It costs suppliers an extra % of the purchase price to use the escrow so as a buyer I many times offer to pay them the extra % if they use the escrow.

I will not ever use Western Union or bank transfer with a seller I have never used before. Ever!

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks Ecom man! After further research it looks like the freight on the item I was investigating from China is way too high to make it profitable (each is packaged in a square box and weighs over 10 pounds skyrocketing freight from China). So it's back to the drawing board.

By the way, have you ever been able to cut out Alibaba completely and dealt directly with the manufacturer? I read somewhere that most sellers on Alibaba are actually resellers themselves, adding an extra layer of cost.

 

[Ecom man]

Thanks Ecom man! After further research it looks like the freight on the item I was investigating from China is way too high to make it profitable (each is packaged in a square box and weighs over 10 pounds skyrocketing freight from China). So it's back to the drawing board.

By the way, have you ever been able to cut out Alibaba completely and dealt directly with the manufacturer? I read somewhere that most sellers on Alibaba are actually resellers themselves, adding an extra layer of cost.

I have done that multiple times. After ordering a couple of times on alibaba I start emailing them and making payments through PayPal directly to them. It saves money and I can then get a better deal.

 

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[NerdAtCoolTable]

Selling open box items and some used items.

Would it be best to put these in an auction ?

 

[mosdef]

i need help you guys. Since im living in sweden i dont know what site to put my products on?

If i put it on the .com site i have to ship to us cost alot of money, if i put it on the .uk my shipping will cost more than the uk sellers cause they are selling to same country. What should i do here? There is no european union site

 

[Ecom man]

Selling open box items and some used items.

Would it be best to put these in an auction ?

It is really up to you. I personally prefer "buy it now" listings so I know what my profit is ahead of time and can plan things out. The society we live in wants things instantly and buy it now provides that better than having to wait for an auction to end.

 

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[Ecom man]

i need help you guys. Since im living in sweden i dont know what site to put my products on?

If i put it on the .com site i have to ship to us cost alot of money, if i put it on the .uk my shipping will cost more than the uk sellers cause they are selling to same country. What should i do here? There is no european union site

Well you have listed 2 of the 3 options. Option 3 is to start a site for Sweden comparable to eBay or Amazon. If that isn't feasible for you at the moment you could ask around to friends, co-workers etc. and see if there is another way to sell in your country.

 

[mosdef]

Well you have listed 2 of the 3 options. Option 3 is to start a site for Sweden comparable to eBay or Amazon. If that isn't feasible for you at the moment you could ask around to friends, co-workers etc. and see if there is another way to sell in your country.

thanks for the tips!

I have listed my products on a swedish ebay owned site working like ebay, problem there is that im only reaching out to my country and that is only 9 million people.

 

[Ecom man]

thanks for the tips!

I have listed my products on a swedish ebay owned site working like ebay, problem there is that im only reaching out to my country and that is only 9 million people.

Ahh i see the issue. In your instance it would be considerably more difficult to sell to a much smaller populace than in the US. People selling from China etc still get tons of sales on eBay.com so it certainly can be done. The issue of course is your increased shipping costs. You would have to get a product with an excellent price so that even after the shipping it still makes sense to buy and resell it. It would take some extra work but it can be done.

 

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[Five Star]

i need help you guys. Since im living in sweden i dont know what site to put my products on?

If i put it on the .com site i have to ship to us cost alot of money, if i put it on the .uk my shipping will cost more than the uk sellers cause they are selling to same country. What should i do here? There is no european union site

How about Amazon.eu

 

[mosdef]

How about Amazon.eu

when you go there you still have to choose what site to search at

 

[StephenD]

Hey everyone. Hey Ecom Man. Quick question for you all.

I'm fairly eager to get started on this and have started identifying products to research. The only issue I have is that I'm aware that most of you are based in the US whereas I am based in the UK and I understand that there might be some issues relating to import duty that you guys in the US don't experience. I've researched on Google and it's not entirely clearly to me what the exact difference is.

Do any of you have any clues? I'm concerned that any differences might make importing less of a worthwhile venture for me.

 

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[StephenD]

Hey everyone. Hey Ecom Man. Quick question for you all.

I'm fairly eager to get started on this and have started identifying products to research. The only issue I have is that I'm aware that most of you are based in the US whereas I am based in the UK and I understand that there might be some issues relating to import duty that you guys in the US don't experience. I've researched on Google and it's not entirely clearly to me what the exact difference is.

Do any of you have any clues? I'm concerned that any differences might make importing less of a worthwhile venture for me.

So I did a bit of research and a fairly significant chunk comes out of anything I'd be hoping to make due to VAT and Import Duty. I made a hypothetical example based on finding a fantastic product that I sold for double the cost of the item:

Expenditure:
Buy 20 units at £50.
Pay £100 in shipping.
Total Cost = £1100.

(On average) the import duty is 5% of the value of the goods, increasing costs to £1150.
VAT @ 20% is then added on the value of the goods and shipping (!) meaning approximate total cost = £1380.

Revenue:
Sell 20 units at £100.
eBay fees = £10.34 per unit.
Paypal fees = £3.60 per unit.


Total revenue per unit after eBay and paypal fees = £86.06
Total revenue for 20 units = £1721.20

Profit:
£1721.20 (revenue) - £1380 (product cost, shipping, VAT and income duty) = £341.20 (£17.06 per item).

What do you guys think? Is it worth me proceeding as a seller in the UK on the basis that selling each unit on eBay for double the cost per unit from China would net me a margin of about 25%? I'm thinking I'd have to shift some pretty high volumes and I'd be quite a bit more susceptible to risk.

If you guys had these limitations on you would you proceed? What do you think? Thanks in advance!

 

[NerdAtCoolTable]

Most of the items I've sold have been buy it now. But it seems it takes longer for them to sell.

I just listed a brand new life proof case for iphone. It only has 12 views but they are selling everyday on there.
My price is right in line with the ones that are selling. Could this be my description ?

I have 26 excellent feedbacks the past 30 days

 

[LittleMissFancy]

Hi Ecom,

This thread is just chock full of great nuggets so thank you again for sharing your wisdom! Would you be able to provide a quick script of the message you send to suppliers when inquiring about their MOQ, prices and shipping for a specific product?

From the small about I've read about this topic, it seems important to convey early on in communication that you are a legitimate business and this often times will secure you better prices and give you preference over others when responding to emails, etc. Someone has suggested mentioning "I'll have my secretary take at look at all the price quotes we receive and get back to you", do you think this is a good tactic?

 

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[Ecom man]

So I did a bit of research and a fairly significant chunk comes out of anything I'd be hoping to make due to VAT and Import Duty. I made a hypothetical example based on finding a fantastic product that I sold for double the cost of the item:

Expenditure:
Buy 20 units at £50.
Pay £100 in shipping.
Total Cost = £1100.

(On average) the import duty is 5% of the value of the goods, increasing costs to £1150.
VAT @ 20% is then added on the value of the goods and shipping (!) meaning approximate total cost = £1380.

Revenue:
Sell 20 units at £100.
eBay fees = £10.34 per unit.
Paypal fees = £3.60 per unit.


Total revenue per unit after eBay and paypal fees = £86.06
Total revenue for 20 units = £1721.20

Profit:
£1721.20 (revenue) - £1380 (product cost, shipping, VAT and income duty) = £341.20 (£17.06 per item).

What do you guys think? Is it worth me proceeding as a seller in the UK on the basis that selling each unit on eBay for double the cost per unit from China would net me a margin of about 25%? I'm thinking I'd have to shift some pretty high volumes and I'd be quite a bit more susceptible to risk.

If you guys had these limitations on you would you proceed? What do you think? Thanks in advance!

Obviously you have more issues to deal with than US sellers. 25% margins aren't horrible considering all the extra expenses you have to deal with! You would have to do double the # of sales I so to make the same amount of money. Ultimately it is up to you to decide if the 25% margin is good enough for you to work with.

 

[Ecom man]

Most of the items I've sold have been buy it now. But it seems it takes longer for them to sell.

I just listed a brand new life proof case for iphone. It only has 12 views but they are selling everyday on there.
My price is right in line with the ones that are selling. Could this be my description ?

I have 26 excellent feedbacks the past 30 days

It could be your description or it could be your case is lost in the hundreds of other listings. There are tons of competitors selling that one item. In a product with that much competition you either have to be the cheapest seller so you get the top listing when sorted by price or you have to get the best match which is virtually impossible with your low feedback amounts.

 

[Ecom man]

Hi Ecom,

This thread is just chock full of great nuggets so thank you again for sharing your wisdom! Would you be able to provide a quick script of the message you send to suppliers when inquiring about their MOQ, prices and shipping for a specific product?

From the small about I've read about this topic, it seems important to convey early on in communication that you are a legitimate business and this often times will secure you better prices and give you preference over others when responding to emails, etc. Someone has suggested mentioning "I'll have my secretary take at look at all the price quotes we receive and get back to you", do you think this is a good tactic?

I normally say I am the buying manager for XYZ company. We are looking to add some additional products to our product line and we are interested in X(whatever specific product you are looking to purchase). Before I am authorized to do a regular order I need do a test order of 25 pieces. After we test the quality of your X we will be ordering in quantities of (100, 1,000 etc). What would be the cost including shipment to our warehouse for the sample order of 25 pieces? Also what would be the cost for future orders of Y pieces including shipping costs as well. Thanks for your time. We are looking forward to adding your product to our other successful lines.

Econman
Buying manager XYZ corporation

I would recommend tweaking this to what makes you feel comfortable in regards to sample size, future order size etc.

 

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[LittleMissFancy]

I normally say I am the buying manager for XYZ company. We are looking to add some additional products to our product line and we are interested in X(whatever specific product you are looking to purchase). Before I am authorized to do a regular order I need do a test order of 25 pieces. After we test the quality of your X we will be ordering in quantities of (100, 1,000 etc). What would be the cost including shipment to our warehouse for the sample order of 25 pieces? Also what would be the cost for future orders of Y pieces including shipping costs as well. Thanks for your time. We are looking forward to adding your product to our other successful lines.

Econman
Buying manager XYZ corporation

I would recommend tweaking this to what makes you feel comfortable in regards to sample size, future order size etc.

Thanks for providing this. You are a wealth of information and for you to take precious time out of your day to add to this community is just pure awesome!

I have spent about 5-6 hours searching for potential products on Alibaba and cross referencing sales data on Terapeak/Ebay. I hope to have a solid list of products in the next couple days, then it'll be on to contacting the manufacturer for samples and listing them. Woo-hoo, this is exciting!

 

[NerdAtCoolTable]

Do you always do free shipping on your items?

 

[StephenD]

Obviously you have more issues to deal with than US sellers. 25% margins aren't horrible considering all the extra expenses you have to deal with! You would have to do double the # of sales I so to make the same amount of money. Ultimately it is up to you to decide if the 25% margin is good enough for you to work with.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply Ecom Man. I'm going to give it a go; I won't know unless I try!

 

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[Five Star]

First package arrived yesterday, items are listed now. Happy Days!

Still waiting on some other products to arrive.

Hope to get a few sales to get some momentum going, though thinking in hindsight that I maybe chose something with a little too much competition. We'll see.

Thanks @Ecom man and other contributors for all the tips.

Rep+ transferred

 

[Ecom man]

Do you always do free shipping on your items?

I always do free shipping for a couple of reasons.
1. It automatically gives you 5 stars for shipping feedback.
2. People love getting things for "free".

When you are looking for an item on eBay and you sort by lowest price it includes the shipping costs in your total cost anyway. So if I'm selling at 69.99 with free shipping and someone else is selling at $60 with $10 shipping I will be lower than them on the lowest price sorting. Plus I love having guaranteed 5 stars on my shipping ratings.

 

[Ecom man]

Another tidbit for eBay selling. Use the best offer as a way to get more views/watches on your items. You can set best offer where it only allows offers in a certain $ range through to you or where all offers are decided by you. I have the price on one of my items set at $95. I am doubling my money if I sell at $75. I get best offers all the time for $70-$80. I accept anything over my doubling my money number ($75). I get a lot more watchers and views this way and people feel like they are getting the item $20 off. Makes me happy because I'm doubling my money and makes them happy cause they got a good deal. Oh and sometimes I sell a couple at the $95 so even better!

 

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[Five Star]

Another tidbit for eBay selling. Use the best offer as a way to get more views/watches on your items. You can set best offer where it only allows offers in a certain $ range through to you or where all offers are decided by you. I have the price on one of my items set at $95. I am doubling my money if I sell at $75. I get best offers all the time for $70-$80. I accept anything over my doubling my money number ($75). I get a lot more watchers and views this way and people feel like they are getting the item $20 off. Makes me happy because I'm doubling my money and makes them happy cause they got a good deal. Oh and sometimes I sell a couple at the $95 so even better!

Thanks for the tip. Definitely gonna try this. I've got 3 different products listed now for between 3-5 days so far, and haven't had even one sale!

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

Hey Ecom man,

Legendary thread man, tons of info.
I already posted this in another thread but I figured I should post it here as I would probably get a better response :

I'm currently looking to get into importing as well. So far, I have found a manufacturer (not a wholesaler) and sent them an email requesting their product catalogue and their pricing list. I also spoke about working with them exclusively. They said "Our ------* have supported OEM service to our regular client from USA. You can exclusive our "-----------" brand in USA. But we can not stop our -------* OEM service for client from USA. ---------** is looking for distributor in USA." Does this mean I would be able to sell both of their products, and get exclusive rights to their -------** since they are looking for a distributor? Or I would I only be able to sell under their brand name? However, I think i'm actually going to be rebranding their products, do most manufacturers allow this?

Their products look really good, I've also done a bunch of research on competitors and prices. There are some competitors but this manufactuer's product is substantially better quality, and I think I would be able to penetrate the market easily. Also, do you have much experience with selling on amazon? I see 2 brands trying to resell one of their particular models but their branding, copy, and product listings are pretty bad, I can definitely improve this. There are also 2 other brands selling similar items from different brands but these are the ones with mediocre quality so I would definitely be able to beat them, the manufacturer even made a video comparing their product against the other brands. I also do not see their other model on amazon, so i'm guessing they would allow me to become the exclusive distributor for that product.

The 2 brands of similar products are both selling for 20$ each, and the 2 mediocre brands for one of the models from this manufacturer are selling for 35$ each. My wholesale pricing for this product is 13$ and the replacement parts are 9$. All four brands also offer free shipping. I was thinking of including one set of both the replacement parts with the product, as this would make it more appealing and pricing it at 47$ and including free shipping. I'm also in Canada so our shipping charges are ridiculous, I'll probably end up using FBA. Does this sound viable to you?

I want to make a good impression on this manufacturer as I see this as a huge opportunity. How would you proceed in this situation?

P.S. I forgot to mention, do I need an import/export license?

 

[Ecom man]

Hey Ecom man,

Legendary thread man, tons of info.
I already posted this in another thread but I figured I should post it here as I would probably get a better response :

I'm currently looking to get into importing as well. So far, I have found a manufacturer (not a wholesaler) and sent them an email requesting their product catalogue and their pricing list. I also spoke about working with them exclusively. They said "Our ------* have supported OEM service to our regular client from USA. You can exclusive our "-----------" brand in USA. But we can not stop our -------* OEM service for client from USA. ---------** is looking for distributor in USA." Does this mean I would be able to sell both of their products, and get exclusive rights to their -------** since they are looking for a distributor? Or I would I only be able to sell under their brand name? However, I think i'm actually going to be rebranding their products, do most manufacturers allow this?

Their products look really good, I've also done a bunch of research on competitors and prices. There are some competitors but this manufactuer's product is substantially better quality, and I think I would be able to penetrate the market easily. Also, do you have much experience with selling on amazon? I see 2 brands trying to resell one of their particular models but their branding, copy, and product listings are pretty bad, I can definitely improve this. There are also 2 other brands selling similar items from different brands but these are the ones with mediocre quality so I would definitely be able to beat them, the manufacturer even made a video comparing their product against the other brands. I also do not see their other model on amazon, so i'm guessing they would allow me to become the exclusive distributor for that product.

The 2 brands of similar products are both selling for 20$ each, and the 2 mediocre brands for one of the models from this manufacturer are selling for 35$ each. My wholesale pricing for this product is 13$ and the replacement parts are 9$. All four brands also offer free shipping. I was thinking of including one set of both the replacement parts with the product, as this would make it more appealing and pricing it at 47$ and including free shipping. I'm also in Canada so our shipping charges are ridiculous, I'll probably end up using FBA. Does this sound viable to you?

I want to make a good impression on this manufacturer as I see this as a huge opportunity. How would you proceed in this situation?

P.S. I forgot to mention, do I need an import/export license?

1. I'm a little lost with the whole"***" thing. It appears that you can sell both items, one under a specific name and another under their generic name. I wouldn't count on having exclusive anything from a company you are just starting out with. I have heard many stories from someone that had "exclusive rights" but the manufacture sold it to anyone and everyone that would pay them. Don't be expecting the exclusive rights to keep margins where they are at. Be prepared for it not being exclusive in the future.

2. Just because something is higher quality doesn't mean that you will be able to sell it at the $47. Is the product viable if you have to sell it at $35? $20? I always try to use worse case scenario numbers when figuring profits. I am buying a product for $25 and it is currently selling at $64. It has sold as low as $45 so I decide if the product is worth importing at the $45 sales price. If I get the $64 great! If I sell at $45 I am still happy with the results.

Is that product worth importing if you can only sell it at $20? I'm going to guess the answer is no. What is the lowest price you can sell at and still make enough money after shipping and fees to be worth the hassle? If you can import a small amount of products (10-20) at the $13 & $9 prices I would do that and test the price point of $47 and see if you are able to get the sales. If you don't make sales at $47 you will be able to see at what price the items sell and then make an informed decision on whether to ditch the item or import at higher volumes.

 

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[Deleted2BB3x9]

Thank you so much. There's a wealth of info here. Yeah I figured being exclusive would be too good to be true. And I think my worst case scenario would be 35$ as there are two brands selling the exact same model for that price. The 20$ is for a lower quality product, however I've seen them on alibaba as well for cheaper, like 7-8$. Also I looked on my pricing list again and it turns out the 13$ is FOB pricing not wholesale. Hovever the sample price is 24.5$. Is sample pricing and FOB different or the same thing?

 

[Ecom man]

Fob would be the price without most of the shipping charges. A lot of sellers on Alibaba will have a "cheap" price and then kill you with astronomical shipping charges. I always ask for sample prices and prices when ordering in quantities of 100+ including shipping on both to my door. I want to know the all in price to my location. I don't want to waste time researching products that are $8 each FOB but in reality cost $25+ each after shipping charges.


Under the Incoterms 2010 standard published by the International Chamber of Commerce, FOB is only used in Sea Freight and stands for "Free On Board", and is always used in conjunction with a port of loading.[1] Indicating "FOB port" means that the seller pays for transportation of the goods to the port of shipment, plus loading costs. The buyer pays cost of marine freight transport, insurance, unloading, and transportation from the arrival port to the final destination. The passing of risks occurs when the goods are loaded on board at the port of shipment.