[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[GuestUser202]

Wow!! That is CRAZY!!!! Thanks again...for EVERYTHING!!

 

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[GuestUser202]

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!!

 

[Austin Sarwar]

Can anyone tell me if a consignee account would save me money? Does anyone do the shipping themselves? Or does your manufacuterer handle shipping?

 

[Calgary]

Just wanted to thank OP for this thread. I did a search of items on eBay that were readily available in the U.S. but not available in Canada. So I looked at manufacturer's in China and decided to import a few items. I decided to go the route of offering awesome customer service as well as Free Shipping (Shipping is kind of expensive in Canada but I still make decent margins).

In the past 7 days, this is the amount that I sold. It's getting addicting. Everyday seems like a day closer to not being bound by a job.

 

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[Calgary]

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!

I wanted to chime in. I just started using Subrion and the sites look amazing! + Can't go wrong with free open source products.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brentnal]

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!!

5 min of research?

 

[Brentnal]

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.

 

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[Ecom man]

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.

 

[Ecom man]

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.

 

[albertut77]

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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Thanks a lot, I'll definitely take a look at that! And congrats on getting sales, you'll see how you make that grow exponentially as soon as you get the hang of it all. Good luck!

 

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[GuestUser202]

5 min of research?

Yeah...jumped the gun on that one. Decided to completely change products.

 

[Ecom man]

Yeah...jumped the gun on that one. Decided to completely change products.

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.

 

[GuestUser202]

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.

I just posted a progress thread so I don't hijack this one

 

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[TTG SS]

Communicating with suppliers. Time zone differences make it slower.

One said I will need to pay for the samples to be made + shipping. The other offered two samples for free if I pay shipping.

They are asking for my DHL account, I just told them I don't wish to use my account at this time. I have just made it a priority to spend at least an hour a day doing product research. Just to get started.

 

[Calgary]

$267.82 as of my last posting on Friday.

Since then, I've had someone copy my eBay listing. I drafted up a cease & desist letter for copyright infringement and the copycat listing was deleted within 6 hours of me sending the letter.

Also, here's where I'm at now as of Tuesday.

 

[albertut77]

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!

 

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[TTG SS]

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!

 

[Ecom man]

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!

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.

 

[Walter Hay]

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.

 

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[Ecom man]

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!

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.

 

[albertut77]

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.

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?

 

[Ecom man]

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 would be happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to ask away.

 

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[TTG SS]

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.

Thank you! They are offering me two samples for free. Maybe I should try and get at least 10 of them total, even if I have to pay for them... $100 seemed steep just to ship two. I will keep you posted.

Big thanks again, without this thread I would not be taking action. Right now my goal is to just get a product in my hands and make a sale. then go from there

 

[aa610]

One annoyance I've found is that some suppliers will put really low prices on their items.. and then when you message them, they'll tell you that price was a mistake, and it's actually way higher. It's a way for them to get your attention and engage you. Kind of annoying.

 

[Ron Dee]

@aa610 experienced this many times. It is very frustrating.

 

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[aa610]

@aa610 experienced this many times. It is very frustrating.

At first I thought it was just me because I'm female. But sounds like I'm not alone


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[The Grind]

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.

 

[TTG SS]

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?

I also got some completely ridiculous quote. I need to pay "making cost", and DHL ended up being like $370 for 6 pcs. What a joke considering they would sell for around $30-40 a set.

Either way I am starting to get the hang of it a little bit. It actually becomes kind of fun now searching for products once you can start recognizing opportunities. Once I get the ball rolling I will make my own thread.

Again, many thanks ecomman!

 

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[Cembo]

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?

Tell them you never had to use an express account because all your other suppliers ship door to door for you.

 

[Ronak]

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.

Why give up now that you've already paid your "tuition costs"?

I think of it like this- let's say you're planning a vacation to Europe. You spend thousands of dollars on plane tickets, getting your passports, hotel reservations, etc. The day finally comes, you land in Italy, and get ripped off on your taxi ride to the hotel. Do you say, "screw it, I've spent too much already and this vacation is not working," and just head back?

You've got your whole "vacation" ahead of you-- its selling, and you have momentum, you just need to make some adjustments here and there to your pricing, sourcing costs, listing, etc. Every new business takes investment, and you've already made yours. Even if this product doesn't work, you've gained experience in making it work the next go around.

Don't give up so soon.

I've been in a similar situation, not with importing, but another project I was working on.

I had spent countless months on putting it together, coordinating with multiple parties, and the major elements were in place. There were a few snags however, and I was beginning to get frustrated. I was too deep into the forest and couldn't recognize that I was almost to the end with glimmering destination just ahead. I thought to myself, I've put my blood, sweat, and tears into this, and haven't a dime to show for it...forget it, I'm not putting anymore effort into this, we'll just launch it and if it sells a couple thousand bucks worth, then fine.

Turns out, after just a bit more effort, it was ready to launch full scale. The result was 6 figures in sales in a matter of DAYS. I don't want to think about what would've happened if I had just given up.