[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[AceCobra1]

I am just browsing ebay there... Just found a seller with at least 5 different accounts selling the same items... I thought this is deemed to be illegal on ebay?!? He has obviously been trading for a while as his feedbacks are all 40k ++ lol... The dead giveaway was all his templates are the same!

 

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[The Grind]

I got a quote for 100 pieces from a supplier I sold samples from.

760 total for 100 pieces to my place. 5.25 to ship each item. 1,285 Total money spent.

I sold a couple for 11.99, i raised the price to 14.99 and sold the rest. I think I can sell them for 19.99 each. Maybe, maybe not, but I do know I can sell them regardless. At 14.99 each I would only profit 200 bucks. Turning 1285 into 1500? Not worth it right. And it would take a while to sell all of them.

But at 19.99 Id made 700 profit. Over 2-4 months most likely.

Is this something to pursue? I have no experience and don't know what a "good deal" is. Thoughts?

 

[AceCobra1]

760 total for 100 pieces to my place. 5.25 to ship each item. 1,285 Total money spent.

I sold a couple for 11.99

Did you mistype that or did you make a loss to build up some feedback first ?

 

[The Grind]

Did you mistype that or did you make a loss to build up some feedback first ?

Not a typo, I didn't care about making any money, I wanted to START so I could start learning. I wanted to get a sale to prove to myself it was possible.

Just wanted to learn. I spend 280 to get some samples, i made about 150. Don't care about the loss at all. But now of course I want to make a little profit and grow, so to speak.

 

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[AceCobra1]

Not a typo, I didn't care about making any money, I wanted to START so I could start learning. I wanted to get a sale to prove to myself it was possible.

Just wanted to learn. I spend 280 to get some samples, i made about 150. Don't care about the loss at all. But now of course I want to make a little profit and grow, so to speak.

Thats good. I recon you want to try to make about double what you paid for. From my understanding (only read 20 pages of this thread so far!) I believe most advocate to mark up about 200% ++. I have not found any product I can mark over 100% realistically but it would be a good start. So I think $19.99 might be good. You just need to remember to take into account of ebay fees which are typically 9% plus paypal fees which in UK are 3.4% + 20 pence

 

[The Grind]

Thats good. I recon you want to try to make about double what you paid for. From my understanding (only read 20 pages of this thread so far!) I believe most advocate to mark up about 200% ++. I have not found any product I can mark over 100% realistically but it would be a good start. So I think $19.99 might be good. You just need to remember to take into account of ebay fees which are typically 9% plus paypal fees which in UK are 3.4% + 20 pence

Yeah good point, I didn't factor in the ebay/paypal fees yet, I know ebay has been saying about 70 cents from each buy.

I've been looking for a while and haven't found an item that has that kind of mark up.

 

[AceCobra1]

Yeah good point, I didn't factor in the ebay/paypal fees yet, I know ebay has been saying about 70 cents from each buy.

I've been looking for a while and haven't found an item that has that kind of mark up.

I think if you are new like myself don't be too ambitious, 100% is probably a good starting target lol. Then as you learn the ropes, you will surely find better products. I am not planning to be the cheapest in the market for the stuff I sell. In fact, I am planning to maybe to mark up my prices upto 5% over the cheapest rival competitor but as I have some knowledge in photoshop, I can edit the "generic images" and make it my own by creating headings etc... so it will differentiate my advert from other generic competitors. I don't think you can keep undercutting esp. when the big boys buy in bulk (and we buy a few samples ) so the only way to beat them is to make a professional looking ebay page, nice advert picture so people will click to your advert despite you being more expensive.

 

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[InspireHD]

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.

You're right at 15%. I'm not sure why I was thinking 30%. It's been a few months since I last sold something, but I want to say that I was using 30% as a base figure for calculating fees over my original cost.

I have been playing around with a little challenge where I start from $0 and see how high I build it. I haven't put a lot of effort into it lately, but as I stand right now at around $65 I don't really have enough to start importing. I need to start selling the other stuff I have and get back to hunting around at thrift stores.

 

[barren92]

still waiting on samples...... ill never use ems again..

 

[AceCobra1]

EMS has been good to be since I bought from China... but they are for my own use. Normally takes about 5 to 8 working days from my experience.

 

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[barren92]

im in my third week of waiting now... hopefully it will be here by friday.
i have a good feeling about this product... maybe thats why im so anxious for it to get here.

 

[Ecom man]

im in my third week of waiting now... hopefully it will be here by friday.
i have a good feeling about this product... maybe thats why im so anxious for it to get here.

That is why I only use DHL so that way I can get items quicker. For samples i don't mind a 3-4 week turn around but for products that I carry all the time I want it as soon as possible.

 

[Ecom man]

Just a little side note, Chinese festival is coming up and they close down for about 2 weeks. If you are selling products already be sure to plan ahead and get in extra amounts before it starts.

 

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[barren92]

That is why I only use DHL so that way I can get items quicker. For samples i don't mind a 3-4 week turn around but for products that I carry all the time I want it as soon as possible.

I definitely see why, longest three weeks of my life. No way I would ever try a drop shipping platform with overseas suppliers your feedback would be dead before you started.

 

[Casey Sucho]

WOW! Why does Christmas always bring out the crazies?

I have spent the last 2 days emailing a lady back and forth. She purchased an item from me a month ago and now says it is defective/ not working properly. I told her that i stand behind all my products 100% and will of course accept a return from her for this item. I issued her a return shipping label and told her to simply attach the label to the package and I would pay for the return shipping. Pretty normal for a return... And then she lost her mind! She emailed me multiple times saying she wanted an immediate refund and would not return the item. I emailed her back and explained that I could not issue a refund without the defective item being returned. Now for the last 2 days she has emailed me threatening to call and report me to everyone but God Himself!

Running your own business is awesome, but sometimes it sure does make you question the sanity of the rest of the world!

Sounds like someone that wants their cake and eat it too.

Dealing with customers is pretty tough at times, but she needs to ship the item back to get a refund. Which store will give you a refund and let you keep the product??

 

[Ecom man]

I definitely see why, longest three weeks of my life. No way I would ever try a drop shipping platform with overseas suppliers your feedback would be dead before you started.

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.

 

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[Don1988]

I struggled with the same thing when I was starting. I still have lists in my email that I paid a lot of money to buy and most websites were inactive or not good margins.

I use three main sites for importing dhgate.com alibaba.com and aliexpress.com. A lot of people will tell you that these sites are tapped out etc etc etc. I can tell you with millions of products available in the world they are not even close to tapped out.

I was doing research on alibaba this morning and found a product that I can double my money on. It can be time consuming to find products but it is well worth it.

A couple of tips for you, stay out of any electronic market (phones, tablets, cords, etc.) most of those are run by high volume low margin folks. Second, look for things that people need to use. Look around at business places at friend's houses etc. what do they need to use every day. Once you have a list go on all three sites and see if it has margins that will work.

import from dhgate.com alibaba.com and aliexpress.com is a good choose ,but taobao is also a better choice

 

[NYCGoblin]

Just a little side note, Chinese festival is coming up and they close down for about 2 weeks. If you are selling products already be sure to plan ahead and get in extra amounts before it starts.

When is it if you don't mind telling me?

 

[InspireHD]

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?

 

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[barren92]

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.

definitely agree. ecom man i know i've posted a few times now without really a introduction but i would just like to say thank you for doing this thread and sharing your knowledge with this. i've read through every page now and i must say its a huge help. so thanks for opening my eyes to this business venture and ill put every bit of this valuable information to work. its all simple really just no one ever thinks about it. advance every aspect from making sure its a quality product to image to customer service to making it a fast delivery, basically everything you would want as a consumer. thanks again bro

 

[AceCobra1]

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.

 

[OperationMyWay]

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.

Does the product have potential? If it does I wouldn't let a 10% buffer keep me from checking out the initial quality. Sometimes a premium has to be paid to get the transaction and relationship started. Think of it this way.... You are getting to use paypal which not all suppliers will accept and now you will be able to have some recourse if the goods aren't as advertised or if you are scammed all together, so paying 10% extra isn't so bad. That being said, what is stopping you from replying back saying company policy dictates that you can only pay a 5% premium for first time fees, etc. (Hiding behind company policy has been mentioned in a lot of threads about importing, so please don't credit this idea to me). Anyways, give it a shot and report back.

Cheers.

 

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[carburated]

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.

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.

 

[mosdef]

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

 

[AceCobra1]

Right now but sales are around $650 within this month. I recently imported some beauty products from China. Profit Margin on these products should be a lot better in my opinion.

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.

 

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[barren92]

finally got my items. just put them up on ebay, will let you guys know how the samples perform.

 

[AceCobra1]

Any ideas if an Alibaba seller has trade assurance means that basically they cannot scam you or alibaba will compensate you themselves ?

 

[mosdef]

finally got my items. just put them up on ebay, will let you guys know how the samples perform.

you gonna focus on europe or us also?

 

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[Arguin]

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?

 

[barren92]

you gonna focus on europe or us also?

I'm from the us so I was going to just try domestic us first and possibly later try international but for now just the us