[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[TaylorB]

Awesome thanks, Ebay's rules and general terms seaching is a PAIN at best. I had to wait for my first months invoice just to confirm the 10% selling fees as I couldnt find it anywhere, only found the listing fees.

Do you think there is a correlation of # of watchers to future sales? I've been watching my competition so maybe thats just sellers watching me! Right now my conversion is about 2% 4 sold/198 views... I think I read somewhere you are selling about 5 per 200 views?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ecom man]

Awesome thanks, Ebay's rules and general terms seaching is a PAIN at best. I had to wait for my first months invoice just to confirm the 10% selling fees as I couldnt find it anywhere, only found the listing fees.

Do you think there is a correlation of # of watchers to future sales? I've been watching my competition so maybe thats just sellers watching me! Right now my conversion is about 2% 4 sold/198 views... I think I read somewhere you are selling about 5 per 200 views?

Views versus sales can really vary a lot. On my website I am currently running 5-6% conversion rates. On eBay I never really paid attention to the conversion. I was just looking at sales number since you don't pay per visitor on eBay.

 

[TaylorB]

Thank you for your reply, that is a good point. I'm just trying to judge momentum of my item to see how much stock I need!

 

[albertut77]

I would dig a little to see why an international buyer would buy. Possibly even keep the settings the same to see if there are more international buyers. Just a suggestion.

Glad to hear you are getting some sales! Nothing quite like hearing the cha-Ching of the app when an item sells. You can use eBay's global shipping program for international sales. It makes it super easy on your end and helps with customer service since you don't have to cancel orders etc.

I just got my first proper international sale. Thanks a ton, guys! I really don't know how to thank everyone in here and specially Ecom man. This is definitely life changing!

Thanks, and keep this alive for the sake of our pockets!

EDIT: Two more! Woohoo!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TaylorB]

I have another question that I don't think was addressed yet.

I'm in Canada so as we know shipping is much more expensive. What I have done so far to get around this was LOT/BULK small items together so instead of selling one I sell 10 as a LOT.

So one of my new items I'm launching is quite a bit cheaper per pcs then my other item so shipping is definitely going to need to be cheapest to be competitive. This is for a standard padded envelope size fits the 10 pcs. Here are my options:


1) Ship my usual way USA Tracked Packet 13.60 USD - Delivery Confirmation and 6 Days to USA

2) Ship USA Letter Post - 2.49 USD - NO Delivery Confirmation and 6 Days to USA

Option 2 would make me MUCH more competitive and obviously more profit. So finally my question!


Do I understand correctly that the risk shipping standard mail is that the customer can claim they never received the item and get their money back? Is there anything else I should be aware of shipping this method?

If that's the case I might want to take the risk on this product as I could then just refund their purchase and accept the loss on the stock as the stock is very cheap if they claim it wasn't received. Those losses could be made up by the profit increase from the honest customers. Then just hope there is more honest vs dishonest buyers!

Thanks for your continuing help!

Cheers,
T

 

[albertut77]

I have another question that I don't think was addressed yet.

I'm in Canada so as we know shipping is much more expensive. What I have done so far to get around this was LOT/BULK small items together so instead of selling one I sell 10 as a LOT.

So one of my new items I'm launching is quite a bit cheaper per pcs then my other item so shipping is definitely going to need to be cheapest to be competitive. This is for a standard padded envelope size fits the 10 pcs. Here are my options:


1) Ship my usual way USA Tracked Packet 13.60 USD - Delivery Confirmation and 6 Days to USA

2) Ship USA Letter Post - 2.49 USD - NO Delivery Confirmation and 6 Days to USA

Option 2 would make me MUCH more competitive and obviously more profit. So finally my question!


Do I understand correctly that the risk shipping standard mail is that the customer can claim they never received the item and get their money back? Is there anything else I should be aware of shipping this method?

If that's the case I might want to take the risk on this product as I could then just refund their purchase and accept the loss on the stock as the stock is very cheap if they claim it wasn't received. Those losses could be made up by the profit increase from the honest customers. Then just hope there is more honest vs dishonest buyers!

Thanks for your continuing help!

Cheers,
T

In my experience, yes, that's the only risk. Of course you increase the buyer's trust by offering them a delivery confirmation service, but most of them won't even check it.

In my case, I only use delivery confirmation when the item is a rather expensive-ish one. For instance, I've got an item selling at around 60~ that gives me 25~ profit, and another one at around 17~, giving me 5~ profit. I'm only using delivery confirmation with the 60~ one, as the losses due to scammers would be quite painful.

If I were you, I would offer both, but the non-confirmed for free and the confirmed for X extra cost: take the risk, suck it up when someone says they haven't received it and just profit on the honest buyers, but also give them the chance to choose the other one. How I see it, that sort of gives you more of a professional touch.

In my (very short) experience, there are way more honest than dishonest buyers, and not many people would want to go through the hassle of asking for a return for a rather cheap item like the one you seem to be talking about.

Good luck with it!

 

[Austin Sarwar]

I have a decent product idea. There is a need in the market and competition but I think I can make my brand competitive. Problem is i'm tied up with another product atm. I went into this with someone else thinking two minds and two paychecks would be better for business. But I seem to be the one picking up all the slack. Anyways "we" have a product up on amazon for 5 days now no sales as of yet. I honestly feel like putting the link to it on here since the product is in no way niche in a market with way to many competitors and I don't plan on repurchasing the Product. I might post it on here that someone could give me advice on if its ever going to sell or if its just a waste of time and money.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ecom man]

In my experience, yes, that's the only risk. Of course you increase the buyer's trust by offering them a delivery confirmation service, but most of them won't even check it.

In my case, I only use delivery confirmation when the item is a rather expensive-ish one. For instance, I've got an item selling at around 60~ that gives me 25~ profit, and another one at around 17~, giving me 5~ profit. I'm only using delivery confirmation with the 60~ one, as the losses due to scammers would be quite painful.

If I were you, I would offer both, but the non-confirmed for free and the confirmed for X extra cost: take the risk, suck it up when someone says they haven't received it and just profit on the honest buyers, but also give them the chance to choose the other one. How I see it, that sort of gives you more of a professional touch.

In my (very short) experience, there are way more honest than dishonest buyers, and not many people would want to go through the hassle of asking for a return for a rather cheap item like the one you seem to be talking about.

Good luck with it!

Very true but I would never put on my listing that I ship without delivery confirmation. All you are doing is inviting scammers and dishonest people to buy from you. Just offer cheap shipping and expensive shipping. Charge enough for the expensive to cover the delivery confirmation and insurance. Then you can highlight fully insured for the more expensive one and don't have to mention no delivery confirmation with cheaper option.

 

[TaylorB]

Very true but I would never put on my listing that I ship without delivery confirmation. All you are doing is inviting scammers and dishonest people to buy from you. Just offer cheap shipping and expensive shipping. Charge enough for the expensive to cover the delivery confirmation and insurance. Then you can highlight fully insured for the more expensive one and don't have to mention no delivery confirmation with cheaper option.

Yea exactly my thoughts. Well back to selling phone made that awesome eBay Cha Ching twice on the drive home yay! It has been a few days

 

[Ecom man]

I have a decent product idea. There is a need in the market and competition but I think I can make my brand competitive. Problem is i'm tied up with another product atm. I went into this with someone else thinking two minds and two paychecks would be better for business. But I seem to be the one picking up all the slack. Anyways "we" have a product up on amazon for 5 days now no sales as of yet. I honestly feel like putting the link to it on here since the product is in no way niche in a market with way to many competitors and I don't plan on repurchasing the Product. I might post it on here that someone could give me advice on if its ever going to sell or if its just a waste of time and money.

You don't have time for 2 products? How much time is this product on Amazon taking ? 5 minutes a day to check and see if any have sold that you need to ship out. So that five minutes is keeping you from going after another product that you feel is good. Why???

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TaylorB]

Here is a simple Excel Spreadsheet I use to see if a product is in the ballpark of what you are looking for profit wise. I left a few of the ones I have been researching and just xx the name. Feel free to use it, change it, delete it as you like.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/90wk8z7l72k2dto/Product Search .xlsx?dl=0

Cheers,
T

 

[albertut77]

Very true but I would never put on my listing that I ship without delivery confirmation. All you are doing is inviting scammers and dishonest people to buy from you. Just offer cheap shipping and expensive shipping. Charge enough for the expensive to cover the delivery confirmation and insurance. Then you can highlight fully insured for the more expensive one and don't have to mention no delivery confirmation with cheaper option.

Of course I wouldn't say "Hey, here guys, shipping without delivery confirmation!", I would just offer both and have the not confirmed as my first option, letting my listing show the "Free Shipping" icon, while they would still have the second option. Is that what you mean?

Also, I need some legal help. I have hit the spot good with this one item. I'm making around $30~ profit each, and yesterday alone I sold 16! To be honest, I'm getting a bit scared, lol. Of course this is not the average selling rate, it used to be 3-4 a day, but yesterday it went F*cking bananas, and now I'm the 1st Best Match in almost every single search (as broad as over 60k results... I'm telling you, I'm tripping balls).

I would love to know what do you suggest doing in the legal field. This is just one item, that I intend on keeping selling for some time, but I have an order of 5 samples all of them potentially very beneficial, which means I'll most likely be making quite some money soon. I don't want to get caught in the euphoria and forget about legal matters. I know nothing about this, and I really could use some help regarding the need to being a business, taxes (UK), etc.

I keep thanking you guys in every post, but it's totally deserved. You've changed my life! Thanks!

 

[TaylorB]

That's a great problem to have!!! Mine also went nuts today sold 6 compared to usual .75 / day! Keep that phone a cha chingin!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[paultz]

My sincere Thanks to Ecom Man & Lovecharm. I started importing products from China since July 2014. During that time I was not treating as serious business,after reading Ecom Man's post & Lovecharm, I got more inspired and started treating as serious & worthwhile business. To be honest since then, I have already sold some of the products to my friends and other local retailers. And I a have already established good relationship with some of the Chinese manufacturers & Traders. The only challenge is that I cant sell on famous platforms like Ebay simply because in my country we can ONLY send money via Paypal but we can't receive money via Paypal, any help/trick to solve this will be appreciated. Again,I 'd like to say thanks to Ecom Man, I believe you deserve a gift for providing value to young people, You can PM me your address I will send you a gift for you or your wife. Thanks!

 

[Austin Sarwar]

You don't have time for 2 products? How much time is this product on Amazon taking ? 5 minutes a day to check and see if any have sold that you need to ship out. So that five minutes is keeping you from going after another product that you feel is good. Why???

Not time I don't have the money atm not sure if this other product is going to sell. When I get paid I plan to sink money into my next project and just cut my investing buddy loose and take a loss on the product.

 

[albertut77]

I just sold the last item of my first serious order, after seeing potential in one of the 4 samples that I ordered some weeks ago. I sold the whole order in 1 week!

I've been playing with the price along the way to see the buyer's response, and after I was the best match I could basically charge 10-20% more than in the beginning, and sales would keep coming like crazy. The last item was ~35% more expensive than the first one I sold!

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make a new order (dammit!) because I'm moving soon to a new place, and things are still in sort of a limbo with that, so I didn't want to risk a hugeass package being sent to the wrong address (no, I don't have a car...). But as soon as I have a confirmation, I'm making an order twice as big, with some test products as well.

Two months ago I was looking like crazy for a part time job that would let me finish my master's while having some income. Now I've made in one week more than two months working would've given me. And I've enjoyed it like a kid in a candy store! This is why I'm so thankful all the time, @Ecom man. You deserve a golden statue. The whole thread does, and everyone contributing!

Keep digging in, guys, timing has proven to have a lot to say in this (I was obviously pretty lucky with my first sample, despite the thorough research), but outstanding customer service and the little details with the buyer goes a loooooong way up to the top! Thanks a lot!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ecom man]

I just sold the last item of my first serious order, after seeing potential in one of the 4 samples that I ordered some weeks ago. I sold the whole order in 1 week!

I've been playing with the price along the way to see the buyer's response, and after I was the best match I could basically charge 10-20% more than in the beginning, and sales would keep coming like crazy. The last item was ~35% more expensive than the first one I sold!

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make a new order (dammit!) because I'm moving soon to a new place, and things are still in sort of a limbo with that, so I didn't want to risk a hugeass package being sent to the wrong address (no, I don't have a car...). But as soon as I have a confirmation, I'm making an order twice as big, with some test products as well.

Two months ago I was looking like crazy for a part time job that would let me finish my master's while having some income. Now I've made in one week more than two months working would've given me. And I've enjoyed it like a kid in a candy store! This is why I'm so thankful all the time, @Ecom man. You deserve a golden statue. The whole thread does, and everyone contributing!

Keep digging in, guys, timing has proven to have a lot to say in this (I was obviously pretty lucky with my first sample, despite the thorough research), but outstanding customer service and the little details with the buyer goes a loooooong way up to the top! Thanks a lot!

Glad to hear that things are going well. Keep it up and it will be more than a part time income soon!

 

[aa610]

I just sold the last item of my first serious order, after seeing potential in one of the 4 samples that I ordered some weeks ago. I sold the whole order in 1 week!

I've been playing with the price along the way to see the buyer's response, and after I was the best match I could basically charge 10-20% more than in the beginning, and sales would keep coming like crazy. The last item was ~35% more expensive than the first one I sold!

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make a new order (dammit!) because I'm moving soon to a new place, and things are still in sort of a limbo with that, so I didn't want to risk a hugeass package being sent to the wrong address (no, I don't have a car...). But as soon as I have a confirmation, I'm making an order twice as big, with some test products as well.

Two months ago I was looking like crazy for a part time job that would let me finish my master's while having some income. Now I've made in one week more than two months working would've given me. And I've enjoyed it like a kid in a candy store! This is why I'm so thankful all the time, @Ecom man. You deserve a golden statue. The whole thread does, and everyone contributing!

Keep digging in, guys, timing has proven to have a lot to say in this (I was obviously pretty lucky with my first sample, despite the thorough research), but outstanding customer service and the little details with the buyer goes a loooooong way up to the top! Thanks a lot!

Congrats! I'm STILL trying to find the right product. Starting to get frustrated!!

 

[Ecom man]

Congrats! I'm STILL trying to find the right product. Starting to get frustrated!!

Unfortunately frustration is good in this business. The more frustrating it is to you the more people will give up because it "doesn't Work anymore". That will keep your competition lower which keeps profits higher.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[aa610]

Unfortunately frustration is good in this business. The more frustrating it is to you the more people will give up because it "doesn't Work anymore". That will keep your competition lower which keeps profits higher.

So you're saying you want me out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ecom man]

So you're saying you want me out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No of course not. I'm saying your competition will be frustrated and give up. That will give you higher profits and a lower number of competitors.

 

[albertut77]

Unfortunately frustration is good in this business. The more frustrating it is to you the more people will give up because it "doesn't Work anymore". That will keep your competition lower which keeps profits higher.

You always find something positive haha. No wonders why you are where you are!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[aa610]

No of course not. I'm saying your competition will be frustrated and give up. That will give you higher profits and a lower number of competitors.

Ah good. I understand what you were saying about competitors giving up and higher profits. I thought you were saying that Me giving up is better for you. But I'm not giving up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Austin Sarwar]

One of ecom mans first post on this thread he said look for things you use around the house everyday. That has lead me to a product which sells for 100-200 but can be bought for 20-50. I have a few product ideas after taking that advice seriously. This thread is full of Gold.

 

[amp0193]

If it makes you feel any better I had the same thing happen to me 2 weeks before Christmas.People with no feedback or horrible feedback got all the sales while I got the leftovers. It went back to normal about 10 days after Christmas.

After 25 days, my listings finally returned back to their "normal" place at the top of the search results today. The last month has been spent developing my product, pushing Amazon sales, and getting my website set-up. eBay is obviously not something I can rely on anymore.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RisingStars]

Maybe my question was already answered but I only read till page 11 of this thread.
I found a little "Starting Product" which is only sold by chinese sellers on eBay in germany. They still get a lot of sales.
The product cost 5$ including shipping and is sold by chinese ppl on the german eBay for 10$ + Shipping.
The main sellers got together around 350 sales.

You said that people don't want to buy from chinese sellers and don't want to wait for 30 days. The problem is that the chinese guys use some fullfilment center in germany, so the product is shipped and located from germany. The description is written in bad german language.

Should I go for it? You can clearly see that the sellers are chinese (contact details from china and the description is written in bad german).

Some benefits i got:
-I can offer eBay guarantee and I am a top rated seller with 100% positiv feedback.
-Good description
-good pictures
-Customer support
...

If I import the product, what should my pricing look like? How much higher then the chinese or is this just testing?

Thanks in advance.

 

[aa610]

One of ecom mans first post on this thread he said look for things you use around the house everyday. That has lead me to a product which sells for 100-200 but can be bought for 20-50. I have a few product ideas after taking that advice seriously. This thread is full of Gold.

Will focus more on the around the house thing. Until now, everything I've noticed around the house is something that can be purchased at Walmart, etc and usually for less.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ecom man]

Maybe my question was already answered but I only read till page 11 of this thread.
I found a little "Starting Product" which is only sold by chinese sellers on eBay in germany. They still get a lot of sales.
The product cost 5$ including shipping and is sold by chinese ppl on the german eBay for 10$ + Shipping.
The main sellers got together around 350 sales.

You said that people don't want to buy from chinese sellers and don't want to wait for 30 days. The problem is that the chinese guys use some fullfilment center in germany, so the product is shipped and located from germany. The description is written in bad german language.

Should I go for it? You can clearly see that the sellers are chinese (contact details from china and the description is written in bad german).

Some benefits i got:
-I can offer eBay guarantee and I am a top rated seller with 100% positiv feedback.
-Good description
-good pictures
-Customer support
...

If I import the product, what should my pricing look like? How much higher then the chinese or is this just testing?

Thanks in advance.

The margins you listed are near 100% even selling at the prices the Chinese sellers are. That is certainly nothing to sneeze at. It sounds like it is certainly worth ordering a test and seeing how many you can sell.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RisingStars]

@Ecom man

Thanks. I will import this product Tested everything and already contacted the suppliers. I tried to be extra nice to the chinese ppl, I heard they like it when I compliment their business.
Next up is Tax when I let it ship to germany. I hope everything works out.
I already have a lot of fun looking for products. If I get average results the product will give me 450€ profit! a month. Possibly even more. In the best case up to 800€ from just this product, since there are no other german sellers.
The key is having multiple products in this business I guess. 10 times a product like this would make a good salery.

I only read till page 11 of this thread. Are there any more important stuff for me in this thread? I know the basics to not get scammed (dont buy iphones, pay with paypal etc.)
Is it worth it to read the next 53 pages or isnt there much which could help me in this thread and the time is better spent on looking for products?

Got another question (hopefully not already answered): if you could start again when would you open a own webshop? How many products should I have, and does it matter if they are not in 1 categorie?
Most german stores have 1 niche.

Thanks again.

 

[albertut77]

@Ecom man

Thanks. I will import this product Tested everything and already contacted the suppliers. I tried to be extra nice to the chinese ppl, I heard they like it when I compliment their business.
Next up is Tax when I let it ship to germany. I hope everything works out.
I already have a lot of fun looking for products. If I get average results the product will give me 450€ profit! a month. Possibly even more. In the best case up to 800€ from just this product, since there are no other german sellers.
The key is having multiple products in this business I guess. 10 times a product like this would make a good salery.

I only read till page 11 of this thread. Are there any more important stuff for me in this thread? I know the basics to not get scammed (dont buy iphones, pay with paypal etc.)
Is it worth it to read the next 53 pages or isnt there much which could help me in this thread and the time is better spent on looking for products?

Got another question (hopefully not already answered): if you could start again when would you open a own webshop? How many products should I have, and does it matter if they are not in 1 categorie?
Most german stores have 1 niche.

Thanks again.

I'm genuinely happy for you that you found this, it feels amazing when you see that you might have hit a good one, and I'd love to see your updates and help in any way I could, but I strongly recommend you read the whole thread. Many questions have been answered, and even if it's not a question but rather a situation people has been at that you might find yourself in in the future, it will be beneficial for you to do so.

About your product, and this has been discussed before, don't go too crazy when you see an item that you can buy for 5 and sell for 10. Take into account the VAT and Duty that's going to be applied in Custom (which is always gonna be lower than what you had calculated, but don't rely on that), the shipping material's cost (padded envelops, tape, bubble wrap, boxes, etc.), eBay fees, PayPal fees, shipping costs (if you offer free shipping, which I strongly advise you to, add it up to the price somehow but have in mind that you'll be paying those) and even your bank overseas transactions' fees if applicable. In my experience, most of the times starting with a margin from buying to selling ends up with either loses or rather low margins once all has been applied. I try to always aim for 150-200%, and then usually end up in the 60-100%, which is good enough for me. So, if I can buy for 5, I should be able to sell for 15. I'll most likely end up paying 7-10/product after all fees applied, so that still leaves me a fairly good benefit.

I will let Ecom man answer about the webshop (he already has in earlier posts).

How many products you should have (which has already been answered, to me specifically) is pretty much up to you. Can you only have one and sell? Then go ahead, why wait. If you can then introduce more, even better, but there's no reason not to have one with only one product if you see that it can sell.

Regarding the category or niche, I'm sure Ecom man has talked about it but I don't dare putting words in his mouth right now. In my opinion, if you're referring to a webshop, I would go for niche-specific web. So if I'm selling 3 different products from 3 very different niches on eBay and want to sell on my own webpage, I would put up 3 different webpages. For example, I wouldn't sell cars and beds in one web page, but I would sell cars, replacements, tires, car seats, engines, etc in one and beds, bedframes, sheets, pillows, etc in another one.

I believe being niche-specific in your webpage gives a more serious, credible and professional image towards your product compared to being a "supermarket" kind of thing.

Good luck, and keep up the good work!