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GuestUser202
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Wow!! That is CRAZY!!!! Thanks again...for EVERYTHING!!
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Free registration at the forum removes this block.Jesus, that's insane. I'm genuinely happy to read how good things are going for you, man. You really don't know how you've turned my life around!
When are you going to start using FBA or similar (if you're planning on doing so, which I believe you said you were)? I mean, it sounds like you could benefit from that, at least for those products that do not requiere such a "personal touch", like the ones you get ordered as a gift for someone else.
Also, I believe you've answered this before, but I can't find it anymore. What software did you use to create your webpages? I started making one with Wix (yay!), but a computer engineer friend of mine recommended using wordpress + ecommerce plugin (which I still have to look into). What's your experience in webpage building? What problems have you found in the way and how have you solved them?
Every small detail will be appreciated. Thanks!
Well, after about 5 mins of research, I found a product and made my 1st inquiry. I can probably sell this product locally like REALLY quick!!! Wish me luck!! Thanks again for everything Eco Man!!
No consequences just spinning off PayPal from the business. Will become two separate businesses again like they used to be.I got a message in my gmail from paypal that they are going to leave ebay soon and they will be an independant organization.
I don't really know what consequenses this has, but i just wanted to let you guys know.
No consequences just spinning off PayPal from the business. Will become two separate businesses again like they used to be.I got a message in my gmail from paypal that they are going to leave ebay soon and they will be an independant organization.
I don't really know what consequenses this has, but i just wanted to let you guys know.
I wanted to chime in. I just started using Subrion and the sites look amazing! + Can't go wrong with free open source products.
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Yeah...jumped the gun on that one. Decided to completely change products.5 min of research?
Making mistakes, changing products, etc. is all a part of this. The more products you get the better you get at finding profitable ones. I still make mistakes. Normally it's because I get too cocky and order 100 of an item because I "know" it will sell good. I still have all 100 sitting haven't sold a single one.Yeah...jumped the gun on that one. Decided to completely change products.
I just posted a progress thread so I don't hijack this oneMaking mistakes, changing products, etc. is all a part of this. The more products you get the better you get at finding profitable ones. I still make mistakes. Normally it's because I get too cocky and order 100 of an item because I "know" it will sell good. I still have all 100 sitting haven't sold a single one.
The decision is really yours. Is it worth taking the chance of getting your product copied to get the sales? If you believe that your product will sell amazingly your best option is to set up a website and sell solely on there. With your own site no one will know your sales numbers or sales history. The problem with eBay is that sales numbers are easily found by your competitors. They know how many you have sold and at what price. No one knows what my daily sales are on my website. There is no tracking of the sales so no way for a competitor to know what is a good seller a bad seller or if I'm getting any sales at all. That is the route I would take if I was afraid of competitors stealing the idea or product. If you can find similar products or add one you can make your site even more lucrative.Hey guys!
I need some advice / opinions (@Ecom man @Walter Hay, I could really use your help here).
So as I explain in one of my latest posts, I have found a very cool and promising product. This product is not being sold by anyone else on eBay in my country, only a few chinese suppliers in the US eBay and a US user through Etsy and his own webpage, which is quite successful (he just put a logo on it). He has also some copymonkeys in the US through Etsy.
I'm about to make a sample order for this product to introduce it in my country. I know that this can be a good shot, that they will sell. In the future, if this works, I would like to brand it myself and sell it through my own webpage. I like this, and I want exclusivity, but here is the thing:
Let's say the product is a very cool phone case, for the sake of the post. There are many cases around, but this one is special, it's just different and it has a lot of market potential in my opinion. Now, as none is selling it on eBay here and only a few chinese suppliers sell them on eBay in the US, I've come to think that, if I start selling these cases on eBay and they kill it, soon enough everyone will be selling them. I don't want that, I want to be able to brand them. However, eBay offers my product to a huge market, which I wouldn't know how to reach otherwise.
The second problem that I face here is that, if you get a very unique phone case and someone asks you where did you get that from, saying "on eBay" takes away all the uniqueness of the product, as it just puts it in a huge sea of products. This, in my opinion, decreases the value of my product and tags it as a generic. I don't want this either, I want this to be an exclusive product, unique.
If, instead, and as the US seller is doing, I sell these through Etsy, I wouldn't be losing the uniqueness of the product, as Etsy is quite unique. You wouldn't be ashamed to say "I got it from Etsy". It's actually a pretty cool site with a lot of unique stuff. However, and as far as I know, Etsy doesn't have a site for each country, but rather puts everyone together in the same market. This means that I would be competing with the US seller as well as all his US copymonkeys, which would mean that 1) I have to reduce the price to be seen, 2) I risk myself to be seen as a generic again, as I wouldn't have branded myself yet.
I don't know much about Etsy, and I don't know if it works as I explained. If anyone can give me more insight in it, like if sellers from specific countries are preferrably paired with buyers of that same country or anything like that, that'd be fantastic.
I'm not even going into the webpage option as I have yet to order, check and sell the samples.
I want to do this properly, reducing the risks to be copied, and, in the future, brand my 'phone cases' and have their exclusivity. However, I am a bit lost in how to proceed.
If anyone has any input on this situation, I will highly appreciate it.
Thanks!
I would rely on Ecom man's advice. He is the expert on online marketing. My specialty is the sourcing and importing side.Hey guys!
I need some advice / opinions (@Ecom man @Walter Hay, I could really use your help here).
So as I explain in one of my latest posts, I have found a very cool and promising product. This product is not being sold by anyone else on eBay in my country, only a few chinese suppliers in the US eBay and a US user through Etsy and his own webpage, which is quite successful (he just put a logo on it). He has also some copymonkeys in the US through Etsy.
I'm about to make a sample order for this product to introduce it in my country. I know that this can be a good shot, that they will sell. In the future, if this works, I would like to brand it myself and sell it through my own webpage. I like this, and I want exclusivity, but here is the thing:
Let's say the product is a very cool phone case, for the sake of the post. There are many cases around, but this one is special, it's just different and it has a lot of market potential in my opinion. Now, as none is selling it on eBay here and only a few chinese suppliers sell them on eBay in the US, I've come to think that, if I start selling these cases on eBay and they kill it, soon enough everyone will be selling them. I don't want that, I want to be able to brand them. However, eBay offers my product to a huge market, which I wouldn't know how to reach otherwise.
The second problem that I face here is that, if you get a very unique phone case and someone asks you where did you get that from, saying "on eBay" takes away all the uniqueness of the product, as it just puts it in a huge sea of products. This, in my opinion, decreases the value of my product and tags it as a generic. I don't want this either, I want this to be an exclusive product, unique.
If, instead, and as the US seller is doing, I sell these through Etsy, I wouldn't be losing the uniqueness of the product, as Etsy is quite unique. You wouldn't be ashamed to say "I got it from Etsy". It's actually a pretty cool site with a lot of unique stuff. However, and as far as I know, Etsy doesn't have a site for each country, but rather puts everyone together in the same market. This means that I would be competing with the US seller as well as all his US copymonkeys, which would mean that 1) I have to reduce the price to be seen, 2) I risk myself to be seen as a generic again, as I wouldn't have branded myself yet.
I don't know much about Etsy, and I don't know if it works as I explained. If anyone can give me more insight in it, like if sellers from specific countries are preferrably paired with buyers of that same country or anything like that, that'd be fantastic.
I'm not even going into the webpage option as I have yet to order, check and sell the samples.
I want to do this properly, reducing the risks to be copied, and, in the future, brand my 'phone cases' and have their exclusivity. However, I am a bit lost in how to proceed.
If anyone has any input on this situation, I will highly appreciate it.
Thanks!
I always order 10-20 of a product to help mitigate the shipping costs and to allow a good sample size. I tell the supplier I need the all in price from them to my warehouse including shipping. That way I can compare apples to apples with multiple suppliers. If they are all around the same price I order from the one that has communicated the best and has been selling for the longest. If one is overcharging you, you can quickly tell it when you compare them all.So I got quoted $100 to ship two sample products. They are not super small but they are not huge either. I asked them if there was a mistake on the quote and if they can get requoted. I would like to at least break even on my samples.
They also always ask me for my DHL account. I just say I do not wish to use it at this time. How do you guys handle that?
Ecomman can you give me an example of how much shipping costs on a real order vs sample order?
Thanks guys!
The decision is really yours. Is it worth taking the chance of getting your product copied to get the sales? If you believe that your product will sell amazingly your best option is to set up a website and sell solely on there. With your own site no one will know your sales numbers or sales history. The problem with eBay is that sales numbers are easily found by your competitors. They know how many you have sold and at what price. No one knows what my daily sales are on my website. There is no tracking of the sales so no way for a competitor to know what is a good seller a bad seller or if I'm getting any sales at all. That is the route I would take if I was afraid of competitors stealing the idea or product. If you can find similar products or add one you can make your site even more lucrative.
I would be happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to ask away.Thanks, I may go with that then. I really like this product, and I think branding it and having its exclusivity, at least in my country, would be the way to go.
May I pm you for some questions related to webpage advertising?
I always order 10-20 of a product to help mitigate the shipping costs and to allow a good sample size. I tell the supplier I need the all in price from them to my warehouse including shipping. That way I can compare apples to apples with multiple suppliers. If they are all around the same price I order from the one that has communicated the best and has been selling for the longest. If one is overcharging you, you can quickly tell it when you compare them all.
The suppliers I am dealing with seem VERY adamant on using my express account for shipping. Are they testing me to see if I am a real business or just joe schmo. Granted I haven't dealt with many but this seems to be common.
How do you guys handle this?
Been a long time since I posted here.
Done with the importing game, tried it, it's not for me.
However, the bulk order I made probably about 6 months ago. I got 110 pieces.
They werent selling at all for a long time, got a sale here and there.
Anyway the past couple weeks they have been selling. Multiple sales everyday, about 5 a day actually.
Not making any money though, I paid 900 for the order, 5 per piece, 5 to ship, They sell for 9.99. I'll lose a few hundred bucks.
It must be my ranking now and # sold. Im getting a great review and great ranking, maybe I can find the product cheaper or something.
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