[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[HerpMogul]

Great thread. Lots of nuggets and charity here. Thanks!

 

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[JustinBoshans]

I just made my first sale of my first product today while I was at work! Yay for passive income! I think it's about time to order my next product.

Rep transfered.

Thank you so much Ecom Man. You rock!

 

[Ecom man]

I just made my first sale of my first product today while I was at work! Yay for passive income! I think it's about time to order my next product.

Rep transfered.

Thank you so much Ecom Man. You rock!

Glad to hear you made your first sale! There is no better feeling then to get off of work or wake up in the morning and realize you made money! Glad I could be of some help!

 

[Mike.B]

Once you find products that don't have idiots in them you can be set for months or years.

This has become quite an onerous task in the last couple of weeks. I've crunched the numbers on over sixty products now and I've only found two that I can make over $7 profit per transaction after fees, and already there are new people selling these products at a lower price. I've been looking at higher price items for the last couple of days; thinking that there wont be as much saturation as with cheaper products, but i'm really not excited about tying up that much money in inventory.

Continuing to grind ...

 

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[Ecom man]

This has become quite an onerous task in the last couple of weeks. I've crunched the numbers on over sixty products now and I've only found two that I can make over $7 profit per transaction after fees, and already there are new people selling these products at a lower price. I've been looking at higher price items for the last couple of days; thinking that there wont be as much saturation as with cheaper products, but i'm really not excited about tying up that much money in inventory.

Continuing to grind ...

I have found the more expensive the product the less competition. Also, the less the product sells the less competition (obviously). If you can get say 5 items that sell 10 each in a month i promise your profits will be higher per sale than if you find 1 item that you can sell 50 each month. A lot of people wont spend time fooling with a product that will only profit them $1,000 a month. I will take that all day long. Then just find 10,20,100 etcof those items.

It is a grind. Honestly the grind is the barrier to entry in this business. People will give up after a few days or weeks. The ones who keep at it til they find the gold are the ones that are making money.

PS. I made $200 profit while I was sleeping last night! Is it worth the grind to make money while sleeping??? Oh yeah!

 

[Nadia]

eBay is amazing. I have made so much free money from it, it's actually insane. And I owned NONE of the products that I listed.

 

[Ecom man]

eBay is amazing. I have made so much free money from it, it's actually insane. And I owned NONE of the products that I listed.

And all it takes is one supplier shipping out bad products to 5 of your customers and your eBay account is closed forever! Not a good idea to give your supplier complete control over whether you survive or not.

 

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[Wuz]

Ecom Man, the websites you refered as way to import products, they only have manufacters from china?

Or there is a way to filter manufacters from other countries?

You said previous in this thread to avoid importing from china(1 month to deliverin generally), but the alibaba,aliexpress and DH gate, they only have pratically manufacters from china.

 

[Ecom man]

Ecom Man, the websites you refered as way to import products, they only have manufacters from china?

Or there is a way to filter manufacters from other countries?

You said previous in this thread to avoid importing from china(1 month to deliverin generally), but the alibaba,aliexpress and DH gate, they only have pratically manufacters from china.

I never said avoid importing from China. I live on importing from China. I said dont drop ship from China. I don't want my customers to wait a month to get the products but if it takes a month from order to when I receive them that is fine. Then i list them for sale once they are in my possession.

 

[Wuz]

I never said avoid importing from China. I live on importing from China. I said dont drop ship from China. I don't want my customers to wait a month to get the products but if it takes a month from order to when I receive them that is fine. Then i list them for sale once they are in my possession.

Sorry the misunderstood. My mistake

you have any precautions when it comes to certification requirements? Did you have this in consideration when you´re looking for products?

i saw this article, http://www.chinaimportal.com/aliexpress/, and when i saw the term "lawsuit" it kind put me on alert.


So far i come up with this variables costs


- Shipping

-Paypal/CC fees

-Amazon/ebay Fees.




Am i missing any potential costs ?

 

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[Ecom man]

Sorry the misunderstood. My mistake

you have any precautions when it comes to certification requirements? Did you have this in consideration when you´re looking for products?

i saw this article, http://www.chinaimportal.com/aliexpress/, and when i saw the term "lawsuit" it kind put me on alert.


So far i come up with this variables costs


- Shipping

-Paypal/CC fees

-Amazon/ebay Fees.




Am i missing any potential costs ?

Your costs look to be correct. Just make sure you take into account that unless shipping flat rate you will spend more shipping to some areas of the country than others. Make sure to include printer, ink, paper, packages, bubble wrap in with your shipping costs as well as gasoline if you live far from the PO. In regards to certification, on Alibaba a lot of people will have their certification in the pictures when you go further down the listings. If you keep your items less complicated you shouldn't have to worry too much about that.

Just don't get too hung up in all the little things. You will learn a lot more by ordering a product, testing it, and reselling it yourself then you will ever learn reading articles online.

I am not a certification expert so if you start importing items that need that and don't have it on their product listing make sure to talk with a qualified person.

 

[HerpMogul]

Ecom man big thanks my friend. This has got my wife involved. I showed her your thread and we are now looking for her item! moolah transferred!

 

[Mike.B]

@Ecom man do you use T\T payments? If so, how do you protect yourself? What's your feeling about Alibaba's escrow service? I've been looking for manufacturers that take Paypal, but I'm finding a lot don't.

 

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[jazb]

You could also ring up many businesses and persuade them to drop ship for you. there must be plenty of boring businesses having a slow time that would do that. List thousands of items without owning a thing. Obviously you would have to do your due diligence on the people you do this with.

 

[JustinBoshans]

I've noticed that some products look like they have a lot of competitors, but it's actually one guy with multiple accounts. Seems smart but unethical.

 

[eSparks]

@JustinBoshans I've also seen people list the same product multiple times. I recognized the trick yesterday, and today I was able to find a high-margin product with only two sellers.

 

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[Ecom man]

@Ecom man do you use T\T payments? If so, how do you protect yourself? What's your feeling about Alibaba's escrow service? I've been looking for manufacturers that take Paypal, but I'm finding a lot don't.

I have used their escrow without any problems. I wouldn't use T\T until you have been using a manufacture for an extended period of time and feel comfortable they will not screw you.

 

[Ecom man]

I've noticed that some products look like they have a lot of competitors, but it's actually one guy with multiple accounts. Seems smart but unethical.

If they get caught with multiple accounts eBay will close all of them because that violates their terms.

 

[Ecom man]

@JustinBoshans I've also seen people list the same product multiple times. I recognized the trick yesterday, and today I was able to find a high-margin product with only two sellers.

Great job seeing through the fog and finding a great product! Way to go!

 

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[Hardball]

@Ecom man

Quick question for the expert - do you subscribe to an eBay store, or use any eBay app for listing design? I'm evaluating different sellers I see, and there's an INCREDIBLE variety of approaches, sellers with/without a storefront, and ALL levels of design skill (some stores look like they were built in 2002 and never updated)... Any tips here? At what price point did you feel like buyers might start make buying decisions based on seller or store appearance?

 

[Ecom man]

@Ecom man

Quick question for the expert - do you subscribe to an eBay store, or use any eBay app for listing design? I'm evaluating different sellers I see, and there's an INCREDIBLE variety of approaches, sellers with/without a storefront, and ALL levels of design skill (some stores look like they were built in 2002 and never updated)... Any tips here? At what price point did you feel like buyers might start make buying decisions based on seller or store appearance?

I use normal text separated into paragraphs for the description. In my opinion it looks far more professional than all the crazy graphics etc. If people have already clicked into the listing you don't have to draw their attention. You just want to come across as business like and as professional as possible. Give them the info about your product, tell them your guarantees, and give your shipping time. You really don't need much more than that. I don't use a store and the only app i use is eBay's mobile/ipad app.

 

[nclabs]

Hi Ecom man,

Have you used customs broker for importing goods from China. At what point do you think it is best to use customs broker. Do you have any recommendations for customs broker ? Please advise.

Thank you!

 

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[Ecom man]

Hi Ecom man,

Have you used customs broker for importing goods from China. At what point do you think it is best to use customs broker. Do you have any recommendations for customs broker ? Please advise.

Thank you!

I have never used a customs broker. I always have my products sent by DHL or fedex and they take care of customs. I get a quote for an item including express shipment to my door. I let them worry about customs.

 

[SarahSH]

This is a very interesting thread and I want to thank you for posting about how to do this. I have been in contact with a supplier from China and am trying to order samples. The items I am ordering are fairly light weight but in the initial quote, the freight charges were astronomical for the actual weight of my product. I just ordered something of similar weight from Aliexpress (totally different product) and my shipping was negligible. Are they trying to scam me with the shipping/ freight charges or is this typical to pay 7x the cost of the actual items in freight? I had heard that you can generally get better prices on shipping if they use their account and roll the shipping charges up in the total amount they want me to send to them.

 

[Ecom man]

This is a very interesting thread and I want to thank you for posting about how to do this. I have been in contact with a supplier from China and am trying to order samples. The items I am ordering are fairly light weight but in the initial quote, the freight charges were astronomical for the actual weight of my product. I just ordered something of similar weight from Aliexpress (totally different product) and my shipping was negligible. Are they trying to scam me with the shipping/ freight charges or is this typical to pay 7x the cost of the actual items in freight? I had heard that you can generally get better prices on shipping if they use their account and roll the shipping charges up in the total amount they want me to send to them.

A lot of people will quote you a cheap price and then gouge you on the shipping costs. I always ask what is the total price including express shipping via UPS, Fedex, or DHL. That way I can compare the total costs versus other suppliers. Of course, the more you order the cheaper per item shipping will be.

 

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[SarahSH]

A lot of people will quote you a cheap price and then gouge you on the shipping costs. I always ask what is the total price including express shipping via UPS, Fedex, or DHL. That way I can compare the total costs versus other suppliers. Of course, the more you order the cheaper per item shipping will be.

Ok, so they are probably not quoting me the cheapest shipping cost? The cost they quoted me for a sample of 2 items - weighing about 1.2 lbs total and costing about 10$ was 70$ for freight. I have ordered through aliexpress and for the same weight of product and around same cost (different product), they were able to give me free shipping. I was just curious how they were able to swing the free shipping for a much heavier package as I don't think the margins on the two different products would be all that different. I could see paying 20 or 30 for shipping via DHL or something like that but 70 seems pretty steep. I had them quote the shipping using their account because from what I have read, they are usually able to get better deals on shipping than people using their accounts in the US. Maybe I am making this more difficult than it needs to be This is the first time ordering from a manufacturer on Alibaba.
Again, this thread is awesome!

 

[Ecom man]

Ok, so they are probably not quoting me the cheapest shipping cost? The cost they quoted me for a sample of 2 items - weighing about 1.2 lbs total and costing about 10$ was 70$ for freight. I have ordered through aliexpress and for the same weight of product and around same cost (different product), they were able to give me free shipping. I was just curious how they were able to swing the free shipping for a much heavier package as I don't think the margins on the two different products would be all that different. I could see paying 20 or 30 for shipping via DHL or something like that but 70 seems pretty steep. I had them quote the shipping using their account because from what I have read, they are usually able to get better deals on shipping than people using their accounts in the US. Maybe I am making this more difficult than it needs to be This is the first time ordering from a manufacturer on Alibaba.
Again, this thread is awesome!

Yeah $70 is wayyyyyy too much! I have ordered $100 worth of product weighing prob 20 lbs. the $100 included DHL shipping costs. I have run across that tons of times on Alibabaa. I think sellers on there put cheap prices to get attention and then way overcharge shipping to make up for the lower prices. Always get quotes including shipment to your door. That is the best way to compare seller's prices.

 

[DeletedUser12]

Great thread.

Normally I look for something "cool" to sell, something I'd want. Yesterday I saw something more utilitarian in a how to video that a guy mentioned he bought off ebay. This is a low cost item that people tend to buy 10-30 of at a time. People are consistently selling them in lots of 25, 1 or 2 lots a day from the few U.S. sellers I found. The minimum quantities are really high on Alibaba, but I noticed I could buy pretty large lots (200+) from ebay at a good price with free shipping (fast from the U.S.). If I break apart these into lots of 25, I can nearly double my money. Not huge money, but I can add on other variations of this same product and build from there.

Going to test it out.

 

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[ddzc]

I love this thread, seeing someone killing it on ebay and at a level where you were able to quit your f/t job is remarkable. Keep it up, hope you scale this beast 2, 5, 10X...

The above shipping "scam"...I see it every day. I've sampled dozens of products, and 90% of them pull this off. If I love the product and really want to sample it, I call them out on the shipping costs being outrageous (in a nice way) and advise them to check other couriers. Two things happen, either "sorry sir there was a mistake in my shipping quote" or "I tried a different courier and got it for x price". Better yet, if you really don't want to get scammed with shipping, create your own DHL/Fedex account and have them use your account for shipping and pay them the sample fee only. I've tried this myself and for the larger items, the factories get much better shipping rates, but at least you can have something to compare to if you feel like they're taking you for a ride on shipping costs.

Also, some guys will try to charge you 3x the item amount for a sample...you can't get away from that, I've tried. For larger items, I've had to pay 3X the amount or they tell me where to go, they don't have time to waste on me. Sometimes, you have to invest a little in order to avoid losing a lot by buying in bulk a lot of crap which is unsellable. In my experience, maybe 1/5 sample orders are duds, meaning I had to toss them down the shoot.

Just thought I would chime in, this is something I do daily nowadays.

Again, thanks ecomm for sharing the knowledge with the board.

 

[SarahSH]

The above shipping "scam"...I see it every day. I've sampled dozens of products, and 90% of them pull this off. If I love the product and really want to sample it, I call them out on the shipping costs being outrageous (in a nice way) and advise them to check other couriers. Two things happen, either "sorry sir there was a mistake in my shipping quote" or "I tried a different courier and got it for x price". Better yet, if you really don't want to get scammed with shipping, create your own DHL/Fedex account and have them use your account for shipping and pay them the sample fee only. I've tried this myself and for the larger items, the factories get much better shipping rates, but at least you can have something to compare to if you feel like they're taking you for a ride on shipping costs.

Also, some guys will try to charge you 3x the item amount for a sample...you can't get away from that, I've tried. For larger items, I've had to pay 3X the amount or they tell me where to go, they don't have time to waste on me. Sometimes, you have to invest a little in order to avoid losing a lot by buying in bulk a lot of crap which is unsellable. In my experience, maybe 1/5 sample orders are duds, meaning I had to toss them down the shoot.


This is good to know. I just wrote them and asked them why their price is so high. Maybe I will go ahead and open my own account with FedEx or DHL. Thanks!