No Stock, No Money? No Worries! – Turbocharged eBay Bootstrapping

[Dezzamondo]

Hey guys, within an hour of joining the INSIDERS I made the cost of the membership back by absorbing some of the sheer wealth of knowledge available to us. This thread is to say thanks and add some value of my own.

I quit my job this month to focus on a Fastlane business that is still being built. I have the power to support myself and my partner because I understand how to sell effectively in markets based on trust and feedback (eBay, Amazon, etc). Whilst there are a few good eBay and bootstrapping threads around the forum, this one is just for you guys.

If you haven’t got anything to sell, I’ll show you how to source stock.

If you haven’t got any money to buy stock, I’ll show you where to look.

If you've never sold anything online before, I will take you by the hand and get you that first sale.

If you’re already up and running, I’ll point you in the direction of where to go next to turbocharge those sales.

Ready?


Let’s begin.


WARNING: THIS ISN’T EXACTLY FASTLANE! IT’S TO GET YOU OFF THE GROUND TO MAKE SOME INITIAL BANKROLL OR EMPOWER YOU TO LEAVE THAT DAMNED J.O.B!

Please feel free to ask any questions as we go along. It's going to take a while to get all of this info out there, so bare with me!

[Acknowledgements go out to TK1, Amail and Vigilante for giving me the insight I needed from their personal experiences to have the confidence to start in the first place. Thanks guys, I owe you all a beer!]

 

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

[Dezzamondo]

Lesson, The First: Part One - Online – No Money, No Stock. No Worries.

LESSON OBJECTIVE: GET YOU STOCK TO SELL WHEN YOU HAVE NO MONIES!

If you’ve got no money to buy stock to sell and you’ve already pawned all your worldly possessions, then you are likely to fall into one of three camps.

1. You are unemployed and have little to no income whatsoever. Not a problem.
2. You are employed, but have so many outgoings that you can’t spare a few bucks, otherwise the family will go hungry / kids can’t get to school / grandma’s hip replacement medication can’t be bought / etc. Not a problem.
3. You’re too young / old for a job and have little to no savings. Not a problem.

Class is now in session.

Lesson, The First: Part One - Online

There are a lot of places you can get stock from for free. If you’re willing to commute to get them, the possibilities will only be limited with how far you are willing to go (literally). Online there are community driven resources that let people share things amongst themselves. Places like:

• Freecycle.Org – My Favourite (Lots of people begging for stuff, but plenty of people giving stuff they don’t want. If you have a particular interest in something i.e. electronics, toys, etc. then you can put requests in. Best part is, it’s all free as it’s effectively unwanted stock that is being recycled instead of binned in landfill.)
  
• Craigslist.Org - Great Internationally (You can pretty much find anything, anywhere. If not then you can certainly post a request and have people barrage you with emails. Expect to have to pay for items, but searching for things like “ASAP”, “Must Go Now | Today | Soon”, “Quick Sale”, “Just became a dad”, etc can turn up some gems. )
  
• Gumtree.Com | Gumtree.Com.Au – Better Than Nothing (Pretty much UK and Australia focussed [I’ve not tried gumtreeads.com, it doesn’t seem to follow the style of the other two.] so it’s a bit useless if you’re outside of those locations. Much like Craigslist, but just as good.)

Have a browse through the items being offered. If you don’t know anything about a product, Google it. To find out it’s current market price, search for it on eBay. When you check the price and get a nice surprise, contact the seller / person giving the item away and arrange to get it from them. A Boilerplate example would be:

“Hi [INSERT NAME],

I found your listing on [INSERT SITE HERE] for a [INSERT WIDGET HERE].

If it is still available, I would be very interested in collecting it from you at a time that is convenient to you.

Would [INSERT TIME] on [INSERT DAY OF THE WEEK], [INSERT DATE] sound alright to you?

More than happy to discuss this over the phone if you prefer. You can reach me on: [INSERT NUMBER]

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,
[INSERT NAME]”

Some people will say no, others will have already given it away to their neighbour. You will have to do some bumping and grinding before you are able to spot potential time wasters more effectively, but stick it out and you will get some initial stock to start with… for nothing / next to nothing.

If you have an idea of the sort of stuff you want then you could try posting a request to those sites or even to your local paper’s classifieds if you have a little bit of money. The return of investment can be quite large if you target the right markets.


PRO TIP: KEEP INITIAL ITEMS SMALL IF YOU CAN!! SELLING LARGE OR HEAVY ITEMS COSTS MORE MONEY AND IS A PAIN IN THE A*S WHEN YOU ARE JUST STARTING OUT!!

Lets throw in an example request for people’s old toys and boardgames. They are generally relatively small and easier to stick in the mail:

TITLE: WANTED – Unwanted Children’s Toys, Boardgames and Collectables – [INSERT CITY, STATE]

MESSAGE:

Hello, I am looking for any unwanted children’s toys for any age. In particular I am after soft / plush toys, boardgames and any collectable items (trading cards, sticker albums, McDonalds toys, etc.) that you no longer have a use for.

If it’s not soiled or completely destroyed, I would be happy to come and pick it up. If it’s a bit damaged, give me a ring and we can take it from there.

I’m aiming to reduce the amount of toys that get thrown away to landfill by recycling them properly.

If you have something you want to get rid of, please drop me an email through [INSERT SITE OR PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS] or give me a ring on: [INSERT PHONE]

Hopefully we should be able to save a lot of unwanted toys from being sent to landfill this year.

Many thanks in advance,
[INSERT NAME]

It’s that easy. If you’ve done it right, you should get a handful of emails from people with all sorts of stuff they want to unload on you. If they ask what it is you’re doing with it, tell them you’re simply recycling them properly instead of letting them be binned. If they still grill you, be honest-ish, “I clean and fix things up and give them to someone else that could do with it.”

I did this with computers and had 5 computers (old ones) in my house within 72 hours. They even brought them to me since the sell was that effective. I used the exact same template as above and got better results than I was expecting. A company rang me up with an offer of 20 workstations that I had to turn down as there simply wasn’t space in the house to hold them all! I made my return by gutting the machines for parts and selling them individually. THEN, I gave the metal cases to the scrap iron man (useful for something other than waking you up on a weekend) for a couple of bucks. All in all 5 computers netted me around £150 in total.


Difficulty: 1/5 (Easy)
Scalability: 1/5 (No element of control, Not scalable)
Effort Required: 4/5
Costs: 5/5 (FREE!)
ROI: 3/5
Perceived Value Given: 4/5 (You’re getting rid of someone else unwanted goods and making it look like you’re saving the planet. Extra Kudos for you!)

Overall Fastlane Rating: 1 / 5

Comments: Whilst it is definitely not Fastlane, it should provide enough value and bankroll to get you started for something much bigger!


Next Up: Lesson the First, Part Two: Offline – Making money with other people’s “Junk” as a service.

 

[LeungJan]

Brilliant! When I get back to the UK, I will execute on your advice! Would love to see the rest if you have the time.

 

[eliquid]

this looks interesting. gonna sub

 

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

[Dezzamondo]

Lesson, The First: Part Two – Offline

LESSON OBJECTIVE: FINDING STUFF TO SELL WITHOUT THEM T'INTERWEBS!

Glad to see this is of benefit to some of you guys. The real fun begins when we get round to listings and turning this stuff into maximised money! I appreciate it’s not following the same lines as the traditional AMA’s as it’s more of a tutorial, but what the hey... feel free to move it!

NOTE: This is a bit of a beast of a post to read, but stick with it if you are struggling for cashflow.

Back to Class

Lesson, The First: Part Two – Offline

We’ve seen how easy it is to source stuff online, but some of you might be in rural areas without much in the way of access to people giving their stuff away… or so you think. I live in a small City (it’s only a city because we have a Cathederal!) of c.200K inhabitants. There’s a fair amount of activity, but barely a fraction of the level of trade compared to places like London or Birmingham. If I can find a couple of £K worth of stock offline, so can you.

Remember, this ISN’T FASTLANE, but a route to generating some cashflow.

Since lesson 1 is about getting stock without money, we’ll have to rule out Auctions for the start. We’ll see it again at the end for UBER turbocharging if you have the cash though, so don’t shout at me just yet!

There are a lot of options available for the fiscally challenged. Let’s run through what they are:

• In a Job working with other people? Colleagues, especially older ones with families of their own, will have plenty of stuff to sell. You’ll get a wealth of old games, clothes, consoles and all sorts. The older ones in particular are your primary targets as they tend to struggle with understanding how eBay, etc works.
• Got a Family or Friends with piles of stuff cluttering up their houses? You’ve seen it banded about before, rehashed in ebooks and thrown all over the internet by people who have nothing better to say. It works, but don’t pressurise anyone into giving you stuff. You want Friends and Family on your side long term.
• Know any small family-run shops & can’t see them online? BINGO! You can step in and say, “Hey! You’ve got some incredible widgets, but I can’t see you online? I specialise in selling online! How do you feel about me selling your stuff for you?†They will appreciate the interest and most likely say yes. You’re an instant business sales developer for them for a small cut of profits.
• Seen any small shops that DO have an online presence, but aren’t using eBay / Amazon as a platform? As above, but targeting eBay / Amazon especially.
• Seen any businesses closing down or struggling? Stock Liquidations are one of the most emotional events a business owner can endure. From a high dollar liquidation event that has been planned to generate a huge wad of cash for the owner, right down to forced insolvency, you need to tread carefully. Offering to help them clear their stock online would increase their chances of clawing back additional money, perhaps even just enough to keep them afloat (if they are struggling). It doesn’t matter if they are already online, by joining forces, they are effectively doubling their exposure. You both win, they have one less thing to worry about and you get some stock to sell.
• Arts & Crafts Fairs in the area, or know any hobbyists? THIS is my personal favourite. Walk into an arts and crafts fair and you will see countless hand-made treasures; from jewellery to wooden carvings, it’s like walking into a business playground. The most intriguing thing I’ve noticed (at least in my local area) is that the majority of arts and crafts artisans are retired and doing all of this as a hobby. They don’t want to worry about the internet or the hassle of managing a business, they just want to make nice things that appeal to their character! Everything else is a bonus. Get in touch and see if they’d like to make some extra money to help them keep their passion going without worry. I’ll try and build a Case Study in a while to show just how effective this can be.
• Anyone that has something that they don’t want or are trying to sell is a potential customer. Keep your EYES OPEN! There is an opportunity everywhere if you are prepared to look and ask questions (nicely).

Now you’ve identified a potential customer, what the hell do you do next?

Easy, talk to them.

Step 1 - Chat
Have a good, old fashioned conversation. The 21st century has been incredible at wiping out people’s ability to engage strangers (or even people you know!) in meaningful, genuine conversation. Don’t even talk about business just yet. Butter them up. Talk about them. If they are a business or hobbyist, talk about their products. Why they do what they do. What they are doing to sell what they do. Etc. For everyday friends, family and colleagues, just chat to them about them and their family. Find something to raise their emotion positively, it makes the next step much more effective.

Step 2 – Appeal to their Vanity & Personal Circumstances
Work in that you currently sell things on eBay, or if you’re new to the game, be honest and tell them you’re experimenting with the online arena. What I found works is quite simple:

For Businesses and People with Products
{Dezza} “Your [widget] is incredible! Look at the quality of the material and the craftsmanship! You clearly must have put a lot of time and effort into this, it’s beautiful! Do you currently sell this online at all?â€

{Target} “Not at the moment. I don’t understand how it all works| I don’t have the time| I have no real interest in selling online as it’s just a hobby| The tax man will notice if I make more money, I’m happy to stay retired with a small income on the side |Yes, I do sell online, but it’s not shifting as fast as I would like | Yes I do, and it sells enough.â€

Now the cunning bit…

NOT Already online:
{D} “Oh no / Fair enough then. The reason I ask is because I specialise in selling products online, internationally and I’m very confident your [widget(s)] would sell very well across the world. I would love to help get your product out there and bring in some extra money for you, it’s got some incredible potential. Would you be interested in trying it out? You have a brilliant product and nothing to lose!â€

Already Online:
{D} “Excellent! Glad to see you’re so far ahead of your competition! The reason I ask is because I specialise in selling products online, internationally and I’m very confident that you could sell even more [widget(s)] than you already do. I would love to help you expose your product to the world and compliment your existing campaign. Would you be interested in trying it out? You have a brilliant product and nothing to lose!â€

Either scenario:
{Target} “F*ck Yeah!!â€

Step 3 – Exchange Info & Negotiate Margins
Now you’ve done the heavy lifting, the Target is interested and you’ve got a host of products and inventory that you’ve not had to pay a penny for yet (It’s sat in their shop / warehouse / living room / etc.). The hard part is over, now you need to negotiate on price. The time honoured approach I’ve found most acceptable is a 70/30 split. Your Target gets 70% of all final sales and you get 30% (After P&P and fees, or you can be a hero and ABSORB the fees.)

“30%?!?!?!†You cry? Am I mad?!

No, not in the slightest. These people are giving you THEIR stuff. They could go do it for themselves and figure out the process for 100%, it would be a ball ache, but they could. They don’t need you. The 70/30 split shows them that you give a crap about their business/product/them and you’re not in it just for the money (You are) as you will be making almost half of what they are, whilst doing all the work. THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE ADDING VALUE!! (Don’t forget, you’ve not put any money up front! They are taking a risk on YOU.) They’ll appreciate that and most likely be happy with the split.

Some people will offer you a higher split, such as 50/50 (mostly friends) whereas others will say they want more of a cut say, 90%. For the latter, it probably wouldn’t be beneficial to do business with them. If unfairness is their game, they can go f*ck themselves in my book. Unless you are REALLY struggling for money, or the product is THAT expensive, don’t settle for less than an 80/20 split. You don’t want that sort of person taking you for a ride. You can’t win with them.

Step 4 - Shake Hands
Once you’ve agreed on the split, swap contact details and get the ball rolling with Lesson 2: Making Money.


Still not convinced?

I’ve used the above to open myself up to new clients. One lady at work had kids with games, consoles and all sorts of high-price electronics and gizmos… they just didn’t play on them and would rather play sports! Another lady had a shed full of £20 floor tiles (about £20k of stock!) that she lifted from a liquidation decades ago. Once she’s tiled her bathroom, the rest are mine to sell! Hell, there’s even a surfboard in her kitchen that I've hooked up with a friend!

STILL not convinced?!

Damn your lack of faith. I’ve taken handicrafts from craft fairs and trebled their price for the creators. I’ve gone to local jewellers and specialist shops and expanded them into the online arena. If some 24 year old kid, with a full time job (until 19th July) can do ALL of this in his spare time, you certainly can IF you are willing to put the work in. People have problems and I help solve them for mutual benefit. You can too if you apply yourself to it wholeheartedly and fairly.

There is working Hard and there is working Smart. This accomplishes BOTH


Difficulty: 2/5 (Simple, you’ve just got to talk to people)
Scalability: 2/5 (Limited control, Not massively scalable)
Effort Required: 5/5 (This will require a lot of work on your part)
Costs: 5/5 (FREE!)
ROI: 2/5
Perceived Value Given: 4/5 (You’re getting rid of unwanted stuff or otherwise shifting stock more efficiently than someone is already doing. Have a Gold Star!)

Overall Fastlane Rating: 2 / 5

Comments: You’re moving towards networking and B2B thinking. Keep it up, you’re going to need those skills later in your Fastlane journey.

SPECIAL EXTRA CREDIT BONUS

For those of you with a bit of cash in your pocket, this will be an offline goldmine. It comes around irregularly and you’ll have to do a spot of travelling if you’re impatient, but the rewards will be incredible. MJ eluded to this in a thread https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/general-discussion/46974-how-make-200-your-money-example-those-limited-funds.html and is totally spot on with the opportunity that auctions can give you.

Pros

• You can get a LOT of stuff for less than ½ retail price.
• There are usually one or two hidden gems (One last week had a case of wine [6 bottles] for an RRP of £25K, went for 2.5K)
• It’s quite fun to take part in, especially when bidding gets dizzy!
• You can normally pay by cash, card or credit card in person.
• The misconception that if you scratch your nose, you’ll end up bidding is a load of bol*cks. You get a card / paddle and raise it when you want to bid.
• There is a period of viewing before auctions start that allows you to inspect the lots. Use it wisely as smaller auctions are quite time sensitive.

Cons

• You usually pay a fee on top of your bid.
• For a lot of the higher quality auctions, expect to pay an entry / registration fee.
• You are responsible for transporting the items you win home.
• If you don’t pay within a specified period, you lose everything.
• If you get carried away with bidding, you run the risk of OVERPAYING for an item. Stay cool and keep your wits about you.

Auction Virgins
For first time auctioneers, I would strongly recommend you set yourself a modest budget... and STICK TO THAT BUDGET. If you find yourself overshooting that AND money is a bit tight, maybe leave auctions for another time, when you do have some money to burn. If you can’t control it now, you’ll struggle to control it at a later date.

Auction Pros
Time to get strategic. During viewing periods be meticulous in your analyses. If you find any defects, no matter how small, be crafty and voice those defects. If you can, when you spot anyone eying up an item you REALLY want, subtly mention the defect to them. Put them off. Make them not want to buy it. BAM, you’ve got the item for a lot less than you might otherwise have done.

PRO TIP
Keep a mobile device with internet access with you throughout. Find out the current RRP at retail and the current sales value on eBay and Amazon. As long as you are happy with the margins on the lot price and the potential price, go for it. Don’t overshoot your limits and most of all, enjoy yourself. Whatever you buy will be a bucket load of cash in your pocket!

Next Up: Lesson Two: Making Money

If you guys have any questions, please shout them out and I’ll do what I can to answer them

 

[LeungJan]

Really well written, I loved the special bonus too!

 

[mlux]

Great tips for people just starting out.

 

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

[DeletedUser2]

good start, keep it up. make this a legendary thread someday, by adding to it.

this solves alot of problems for starters. they don't have any money.

keep it up Dezz

Z

 

[LeungJan]

So just got back to the UK, told my girlfriend about your thread and today she executed on it! Its an addicting feeling - she is so excited. Lets hope she keeps it up.

So for the first step she signed up to freecycle, browsed some listings.. checked the price of some wireless routers and went and picked them up (About $20-$40 value). She got 2 with the box and everything in great condition; just need to test them to make sure they work!

Next step listing on ebay... will report back with how she is doing.

She is already planning to go to some shops and ask for commissions. I also gave her some of my stuff I dont use any more to list on ebay to get her used to the whole selling process / valuation. I think those skills will come with time.

Would love to hear part 3..

 

[Dezzamondo]

That's great to hear LeungJan! It's great to hear someone taking action on things

I'll do what I can to write up the sales tips this week for you guys. In the mean time, my biggest tip would be to list your items for 10 day listings starting on a Thursday just after lunch or evening meals (1200-1400 or 1600-2100) to get them to end on a Sunday around the same time. You end up getting two weekends for the price of one listing!

Been busy getting other things in order for a Fastlane Progress surprise shortly!

 

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

[LeungJan]

Wow thanks for the tip, will use it and report back!

Looking forward to hearing next part!

 

[Dezzamondo]

Lesson 2, Making Money - Sell It Like a Pro

LESSON OBJECTIVE: SELL YOUR STUFF AS PROFITABLY AS POSSIBLE FOR AS LITTLE COST TO YOU AS POSSIBLE!

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST!

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the infrequency of these updates. I’ve been head-down in code and trying to get my own ventures up and running, that I’ve simply neglected adding value to the forum. Hopefully, you’ll forgive me after this post!

Right then, so now you’ve got your Free Stuff (or as close to free as you could). Lets figure out how to shift it and make room for more stuff, putting money in your pocket along the way.

PREREQUISITES

Before we continue, you will need to sign up and register / verify yourself with the following parties, if you don’t already have an account with them:

• eBay. This will be our initial, primary sales platform. It doesn’t matter what region you are in, but I STRONGLY recommend starting off with registering in your home country. i.e. UK = ebay.co.uk, Germany = ebay.de, USA = ebay.com, etc. Whilst you CAN jump the gun and sell internationally right off the bat, let’s take a step back and get a local sale first… you can run later, Forest.
• PayPal. This will be our initial, primary payment processor. They are big, powerful and almost too easy to use. Whilst I don’t recommend them for everyday business (lack of control and horror stories, not to mention chargebacks), they are ideal for getting started.

If you can’t figure out how the registration works, then maybe this isn’t for you. However, if you do get REALLY stuck and can’t figure out the answer, AND have exhausted the provider’s FAQs & helpdesks, drop me a message and I’ll see what I can do to help.

Got your accounts?

Awesome, then let’s dive straight in.

LESSON 2: Making Money – Sell It Like a Pro

There are 4 main components to an eBay listing, all of which you need to master to make your listings more effective than the rest of the eBay community. For the purpose of this tutorial, I’ve named them “The Four P’sâ€:

• Price
• Picture
• Pitch
• Placement

Let’s have a look at what we need to do with each of them…

PRO MASTERY 1) PRICE

Getting into the habit of mastering Pricing now will save you a lot of effort and money in the future. This component is all about figuring out how much your item is likely to sell for, whilst positioning yourself to take maximum profit over someone else’s listings.

It’s quite simple. Search for your item(s) and see how much they are selling for. Most people do this and are then surprised when they don’t get figures anywhere near what they were expecting. Here’s how to do it like a Pro:

• STEP 1 – Search for your item on the eBay site you will be using.
• STEP 2 – Used the advanced search features to filter for “Sold Listings†(a very new button they’ve FINALLY added. You used to have to trawl through completed listings and gauge if something had actually sold or not by the colour of the listing price! A bit crap if you’re colour-blind.)
• STEP 3 – Rank by “Price: Highest firstâ€. This will show you the highest price that your item has gone for in the last few weeks. Take it with a pinch of salt. Investigate the listings for common themes such as added extras, pictures, descriptions, etc. Try and figure out what caused these listings to go for more than all of the others.
• STEP 4 – Rank by “End Date: Recent Firstâ€. Same drill, this will give you a more recent snapshot at what price your items are currently selling for. Take note of any large variations from the highest price in STEP 3 and investigate why. Particularly take note of the End Date itself (discussed later).
• STEP 5 – Punch your item into Google and Amazon to find the current market price for New and Used items that you are selling.
• STEP 6 – Based on your research, pick a target price that you think you are likely to receive if you put your item up for sale. This will be somewhere between the most recent price and the highest price. The Google & Amazon price gives you an indication of how skewed the eBay marketplace is at that moment in time. (By that I mean you get some crazies that place massive bids either from stupidity, greed, accident or malice. Large variances suggest something’s up.)
• STEP 7 – Set your Buy It Now Price Approximately 10-20% higher than the highest sales price average from STEP 3. WHAT?!?! AM I MAD?!? Not in the slightest. We are going to be listing your item as a 99p (or 99c or 0.99 whatever the local currency is) no-reserve auction, with a Higher Than Average Buy It Now price. Why? The 99p auction pulls in the viewers and the bidders. Of these, there will be the impatient ones who need your items RIGHT NOW. Sure there might be a premium and plenty of other people with much cheaper prices, but you’ve drawn them in and they want to buy from YOU. If someone wants it bad enough, they’ll hit BIN (Buy It Now). If not, they’ll bid, the auction begins and you probably hit your target price from STEP 6. Make sense?

PRO TIP – eBay changed the rules around their BIN & Auction listings a while back. If you are running an auction with a BIN price, as soon as someone places a bid, the BIN price will disappear. Keep that in mind for your listing descriptions. It helps to be helpful and tell people reading your sales pitch.

PRO MASTERY 2) PICTURE

eBay are changing the rules for businesses trading on the site. They want all pictures to be crappy stock photos on white backgrounds going forward. A bit silly if you ask me, but it’s what they are doing to become more like an online retailer, like Amazon. You can still use photos of your items on carpets or your piano top, but they will penalise you for it. NOTE: Personal accounts are unaffected by this rule, it’s only the business accounts that have to comply at present!

So, here’s your opportunity to master the art of product photos AND prep yourself for business-level listings. You will need either a Light Box or a (clean!) White bed sheet and a camera of your choice.

Don’t have a light box? Pick one up off of eBay if you have the cash. I strongly recommend investing in one if you are going to be taking lots of photos. It will save you unbelievable amounts of time and make your listings stand out more professionally.

Don’t have any white sheets or a light box either? Scruffy git. You’ll have to make do with whatever sheets you can find then and edit the photo on your computer. Try and pick a solid, plain colour that you can easily select in Paintshop or GIMP and replace with white.

Don’t have a camera? Use the one on your Phone.

Don’t have a camera enabled phone either? Ask around to borrow a friend’s and email it to yourself. Get creative and find a solution. Use a damned webcam if you have absolutely no other choice.

Got your lightbox / sheet & camera? GOOD, Let’s crack on then:

• STEP 1: Setup the lightbox or bedsheet so that there is plenty of light getting to it. If anything is dark and dingy, add lights, flash or open a window to illuminate the setup. Hell, do it outside if you have to!
• STEP 2: Clean your item and place it into the middle of the setup. If there is any glare, reflections, dirt or anything else to make a picture look awful, consider moving the item around, or even the whole setup until you are happy it looks professional.
• STEP 3: Take photos. You only need one good one. If you are prone to shaking, get a stand to rest the camera against. Books, chairs and other creative props can be used if necessary. Try with and without the flash and decide which one looks better. Once you’ve got your one good picture, delete the rest and move onto your next item.

Your first picture on your listing is FREE. You can add more, but that will eat into your profit. Make do with one and try to make any defects clear so that you’re being open and honest. If you want to lie about the condition of products you are selling, stop reading now and go follow someone else’s advice. The only time I would consider multiple photos is for high value items such as vehicles, etc.

CHECKLIST
Your Picture Should:
- Be Blur Free
- Be Clear To See
- Be Bright (As In NOT Dark And Dingy)
- Have NO Visible Objects Other Than The Subject Matter.

PRO MASTERY 3) PITCH

Now for the fun part.

Your pitch will decide whether your price goes for higher than average price, or below average price. Get it wrong and you will be taking much longer to turn those items into cash. Get it right and you’ll have repeat customers further down the line (assuming you specialise later on).

The standard sales template I utilise for business and pleasure goes a little something like this:

Welcome to another listing from [Your Name Here ]

Starting at 99p No Reserve OR Jump the queue and Buy It Now at £[High End Price + 20%]

(Once bidding starts, eBay will remove the Buy It Now Button, so grab the bargain before someone else does!)

This listing includes all of the following items:

1 x [Item]
1 x [List Any Additional Items Included In The Auction]
2 x [Such As Cases, Power Supplies, Straps, etc.]


NOTES:

The [Item] is in good, clean and working order, as can be seen in the listing photograph.

[If marked]==There are light markings on the console from frequent use and general wear and tear.

[Include anything that ISNT being included, such as batteries, memory cards, or anything else the buyer might expect with it… particularly if it’s in the picture. i.e. Pennies for sizing comparison, etc.]

For peace of mind, this item is covered by our returns policy

Grab yourself a bargain now before it’s gone!

Happy Bidding!

Key Notes:

• Left Justify ALL Text. It’s much easier for people to read. Don’t believe me? Sell the same item twice and watch the difference in sales.
• Add a background template. The cost is negligible for a default eBay listing background. It adds colour and looks far more appealing than the basic black and white text you see from Joe Average. I use the Blueprint template as it works with the items I sell. Find one you like and add it to your listing.
• CRAM as much relevant info as you can into your listing title. This is the second thing people see when searching through listings. The first thing they see is the photo. Make sure you include; What the item is; Anything Special about it (i.e. limited edition, etc); The Item’s Condition (if it will fit); and “No Reserve†if you can.
• Don’t bother with any additional bells and whistles. No subtitle descriptions. No enlarged gallery listings. No highlights (if they even do that anymore?). Anything you add will decrease your profits. Unless you’ve got high ticket items, steer away from add-ons.
• DON’T watermark your photos. eBay are starting to introduce new rules for all sellers to limit people from adding text to their pictures. Don’t start, it will give you less grief in the future.
• ALWAYS OFFER A RETURNS POLICY. If you want someone to buy something from you with total peace of mind, offer a straight forward and honest 30 day money back guarantee. eBay especially will love you for this. Mine looks like:
  

  “If you are not 100% satisfied with your product supplied by [Name Here], please contact [EMAIL ADDRESS HERE] and return the product by recorded delivery. We will refund the total value of the list price you purchased the item for, excluding any postage paid, if any. [Name Here] will not cover any return postage fees incurred by the buyer.â€

Straight forward enough? Good, we’re almost there…

HIDDEN PRO TIP GEM – If you’ve made it this far, here’s your reward!
Z came across an absolute GEM of a research find. THESE guys found that writing a short fictional story about junk, increased their value by around 2,500%. Don’t believe me? Check out their stories. I’m going to give it a go over the next two weeks and see if it can pocket me some extra cash. If that works, then I will experiment with my business listings and report back.

PRO MASTERY 4) PLACEMENT

Timing is Paramount
Whilst a good photo, price and copywriting will make you a lot of money, the timing of the whole thing is key to your profitability. You need to target people who are sat at a computer looking to buy NOW. You will have more people browsing your items after lunch and evening meals than you would at 3am or during the morning rush. You need to get the timing right.

PEAK TIMES:
Sales peak on Sundays, Fridays and Saturdays, in that order. Target your listings to end on Sundays.

For MAXIMUM effect:

• Aim to have it end between the hours of 1200-1400 and 1800-2100.
• Start a 10 DAY LISTING on a THURSDAY within the times above. It will end at the same time on a Sunday, giving you two weekends for the price of one listing.

If you REALLY have to, use a 7 day listing on a Sunday. It’s your money you’re doing yourself out of. Likewise, if you’re about to leave for a holiday, go for a 3 day listing on a Thursday instead and post to the winner on the Monday. Take the parcel with you or leave it with a friend to post.

Guess What...THAT’S IT!

All of the above is enough to get you started, making money where you have none, or very little. It will also get you into the habit of MAXIMISING your returns right from the start, so that you don’t waste any money later on. The amount you make will directly reflect how much effort you’ve put into making it work.

If it feels like it’s too simple to be true, give it a go and tell me I’m wrong.


Difficulty: 3/5 (Photos and Price Finding takes up time)
Scalability: 3/5 (Once you have templates and a light box, scalability becomes easier)
Effort Required: 4/5
Costs: 3/5 (You will want to invest in a decent Light Box and a Digital Camera for best results.)
ROI: 5/5
Perceived Value Given: 4/5 (You’re giving someone a great deal, but it costs more than everyone else’s!)

Overall Fastlane Rating: 2 / 5

Comments: Whilst it is definitely not Fastlane, you are entering the realms of a process you can start to scale. Get the basics right and then the rest becomes natural.

Next Up: LESSON THREE: Scale Your Money – Enter The Powerseller

 

[LeungJan]

Awesome!

So my girlfriend has been making trips around town collecting all this stuff.

We are trying to find a way to monetize furniture because if there is we would have a shit ton to sell!

But she has mainly been collecting ink for printers be it inkjet or laser printers ( most of this stuff is BRAND NEW) worth arund $70. Amazing.
and she gets to go around to the nice parts of town or companies.

Most people giving the stuff away seem to be women too.

All in all she has collected

2 Wireless routers
1 Printer
1 Lazer Printer Toner
6 Different inks for printers
40 Files/folders
1 Baby carrier/holder

Its great timing you posted about ebay as we were wondering how to optimise prices, we were searching finished listings and gauging pricing around the rest of the web but I had a hunch that we could sell for more if we used some better technique so will try this and report back!

 

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

[Mrs. BRKb]

We are trying to find a way to monetize furniture because if there is we would have a shit ton to sell!

Annie Sloan's proprietary chalk paint and the imitations of it are hot in DIY circles. If people where you are are willing to pay for painted pieces, and if you can sell them at a profit, that might work.

 

[MMatt]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I think more people are doing this lately, at least in my area. Visited about ten yard sales the past couple weekends and scoured craigslist free section only to find a couple products worth the ROI. My general rule is it has to clear at least ten bucks to be worth my time selling it online, as well as easy to ship.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

This post is very relevant for anyone selling on Ebay or Craigslist...

About how telling a story increases return by as much as 300%.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/customer-service/47515-never-broke-again.html

 

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

[Dezzamondo]

Never Be Broke AGAIN!

I love how Z manages to find these gems!

I think more people are doing this lately

It certainly seems to be the case. However, you'll probably find that people are dropping it just as quickly as people are starting as it can be a lot of effort to dig and rummage through things all the time. Your $10 rule is definitely a good one, it just means you have to look harder for things

 

[MJ DeMarco]

it just means you have to look harder for things

I'd rather make $15/hour working for myself than $25/hour working for someone else. The ability to run your own schedule and do things your way carries a great mental reward.

 

[LeungJan]

So my girlfriend is still at it!

She has been collecting a lot more ink (which we found out some is expired, but most likely still useable).

She collected some dancing shoes and a brand new wedding dress for larger women. ($200 value).

Some of the stuff she has listed on ebay such as the printer inks and books have sold. Other stuff isn't really selling. I don't know if its her inexperience on ebay and listing techniques or this is simply not a lot of demand. Anyway its free to relist...

Some stuff I feel we could sell better elsewhere like amazon etc. (perhaps the inks?)

She went to a few stores and had a look at their stuff, asked them if they sold online etc. I told her to just get a feel for it and due her research on their stuff and if it sells or not.

The next day she got in touch with her old boss who she knew had warehouses full of stuff.

In particular the boss had 500 wedding dresses, costing up to $800 in storage per month which the boss had no time to sell. So she told her she could sell them for her and the boss said "she doesnt care about the money" just get rid of them. Well I don't think thats true if they are worth anything but she is going to collect a few and start trying to sell them tomorrow.

Will continue to update (trying to apply your new tips), this is a fun little game! Teaches you some great basics of what is valuable and what sells, how to present, connect with others etc..

We are trying to get her in the position where she is making a considerable amount but it is a process I guess!

 

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

[MMatt]

Bought an item in an category I am knowledgeable in. Bought it for one dollar. Sold it for $40. 4000% roi, not bad.

 

[Dezzamondo]

Nice one MMat! Pretty easy once you get the hang of it!

 

[Dezzamondo]

I have a nice little surprise for you today, from eBay...

Your first picture on your listing is FREE. You can add more, but that will eat into your profit.

Turns out they have lifted the Gallery Fees for uploading pictures. You can now upload up to 12 pictures to your listing... for FREE! This applies to both Personal and Business accounts. Great if you've got an item with unique features all around it. Just make sure all your pictures are as Big, Sharp and Brightly Lit for maximum effectiveness. Oh, and make sure they are all relevant, of course!

 

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

[Genium]

Trying this with a chef knife of mine. Didnt write a compelling story, but I did everything else. 10 days to go!

I am going to visit some thrift shops and buy $5-$10 worth of things and write some interesting stories about them, like the ones on that website "significant objects", and try to at least triple my money.

Thanks for this!

 

[Dezzamondo]

BONUS LESSON: PowerSellers – An Overview

My venture into the world of art is taking longer and a lot more time than I was expecting. With some upcoming turbulance on the horizon to do with family, I'm going to need to knuckle down and get some real fastlane going, well... fast. I'll save the long winded version of it all for another thread, but the short version is this:

• I am going to turn this thread into my first info product.
• I am going to turn that info product into; a PDF download, using clickbank; And a Kindle Download on Amazon.
• I am going to turn that info product into a course on Udemy, linking in with the book.
• I am going to start a dedicated community / membership site offering help to students and newcomers looking at making the most on eBay, whilst keeping them all up to date with the latest changes and tips, etc. It will be linked in with the book and the video course. Of course, for all other business related threads that pop up, they'd be directed to FLF!

The book is currently at c.10,000 words and roughly 1/3rd of the way through.

It is my complete intention to keep this thread going to contribute to the forum. You guys are essentially my sounding board. Since all the feedback so far has been positive, it makes sense to ener the market and help others make more money as well... the best bit is, you guys essentially get it for free! Hooray for being an INSIDERS!

Anyway, enough of the sentimental stuff and the business epiphany, lets get down to business.

************************************************************

LESSON OBJECTIVE: LEARN WHAT MAKES A POWER SELLER, WHY WE WANT TO BE ONE AND START LOOKING AT ROUTES TO GET US THERE.

I know I left off last time with this lesson being about "Scaling Your Money - Enter The PowerSeller" but I'm going to take a detour and make sure you understand WHAT a PowerSeller is, WHY you want to be one and more importantly, HOW you can get there. Think of this post as glimpse of the end, allowing you to plan your jorney more effectively.

Grab a cup 'o' Joe, you've got a lot of thinking to do.

Sorted?

Good, then lets begin.


BONUS LESSON: PowerSellers – An Overview

So you’ve been selling some items as you’ve gone along, giving you a sporadic stream of money coming in every now and again. Rather than just hope for the best in finding hidden gems in charity shops and all the other places we’ve discussed, we need some kind of plan to make a recurring and regular income stream that we can more or less rely on. If we can also save a bit of money along the way, then even better. Thankfully, eBay has a defined structure for this, their PowerSeller Program.

What is a PowerSeller?
These are businesses and individuals that have met a specific set of eBay’s selling criteria for a 3 or 12 month sales period. That criterion is a mixture of the following:

• *Feedback Ratings & Customer Satisfaction
• *Total Sales Gained
• *Volume of Items Sold
• Dispatch Timings & Postage Charges
• Item Description Accuracy & Warnings
• Number of Cases Opened

The three criteria with asterisks next to them are the most important. These are the main areas that will determine which, if any, of the Power Seller camps you will fall into. Whilst the rest are important, they should all come naturally as part of the day to day process of selling on eBay.

What’s so great about being a Power Seller?
eBay loves making money. Their bread and butter within their ecosystem are the people who can sell large volumes of high-value items. They are appreciated so much, that eBay will reward their prize geese with various things, such as discounted listings, lower transaction fees, increased relevance in searches and favoured views during disputes. It is in eBay’s interests to ensure Power Sellers keep coming back for more, so that buyers keep coming back for more, so that eBay and PayPal can skim off the top of even more transactions. Everybody wins!

The result?

POWER SELLERS MAKE EVEN MORE MONEY!

Ok, great. PowerSellers make more money. What do we need to do to become one?
This is the easy part. There are 5 main types of PowerSeller statuses currently available. From smallest to largest they are simply:

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Titanium

Using eBay.co.uk as an example, in order to be considered, you need to meet all of the following criteria FIRST, taken from the eBay website:

• Be registered with eBay for at least 90 days
• Must be registered as business seller on eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie
• Have an account in good financial standing [Pay your eBay fees on time]
• Follow all eBay policies

-AND-

[The following Will Be Covered in a later lesson, “Feedback is Kingâ€]

• Maintain a positive Feedback of 98% or higher over the past 12 months
• Receive at least a 4.60 average from UK and IE buyers across all 4 detailed seller ratings (DSRs) [Just a fancy name for the Feedback Star Ratings]
• For all transactions with UK and IE buyers, have no more than 1% of transactions with low DSRs (1s or 2s) on item as described, and a maximum of 2% of low DSRs on communication, dispatch time, and P&P cost
• For all transactions with UK and IE buyers, have no more than 1.00% of transactions result in opened eBay Buyer Protection and PayPal Buyer Protection cases, and no more than 0.3% of transactions result in closed cases without seller resolution.

That second half basically means, keep the customer happy so that feedback doesn't drop. As you'll find out later, keep descriptions accurate, use fair postage pricing, be timely and polite.

-AND-

In addition, for each of the different levels, you will ALSO be required to meet a specific Sales Value or Sales Volume. The table below shows the current (as of August 2013) Value & Volume rates for eBay.co.uk, provided as 3 Month and 12 Month targets. eBay will check your performance on a rolling monthly basis, unless they tell you otherwise, and will automatically enrol you as a PowerSeller once you hit the targets.

[Sellers within other countries will follow a similar pattern, check your PowerSeller Dashboard for your country’s specifics.]



Whoa!
Before you slump your head into your hands and tell yourself “I’ll never be able to make £1.14 Million in a year!†or “Where am I going to put 60,000 widgets?!â€, Stop. The table is not quite as daunting as you might think.

Let’s Break it down.

3 months is a long time. 12 months is even longer (surprise!). For the first level, with the reward of having “PowerSeller†appear next to your listings, all you need to do is make 100 sales, totalling £1000. Now, 100 is still quite a big number, as is £1000. However, that realistically equates to Just over 8 sales a month, with each sale bringing in £10. Now that doesn’t sound so bad does it? If you go and break it down further, it’s just under 2 sales a week, still at £10. If you’re picking up stuff for free from the start of the chapter, then you’ll probably have quite a mix of things which will even your figures out, making you a Bronze PowerSeller before you know it. Well done you!

After the Bronze level, it purely becomes a numbers and logistics game. Your routes to ranking up becomes a choice of selling:

• Lots of items cheaply
• Fewer, but more expensive items
• A mix of high value, high volume items

Just to give you a flavour and a bit of fun, here’s the same information, broken down by weekly and daily targets (figures rounded up to the next whole £ or unit):



As you can see, the goals become more realistic when you break it down into smaller components. A lot of people, your competitors, will have looked at the gargantuan, initial requirements and wondered off in search of riches elsewhere. But YOU, dear reader are now another step ahead.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Whilst you continue your eBay venture, start thinking on what route you might want to take for ranking up the levels. Do you think you could find and sell High Value items that you only need to post a few times, but might only sell irregularly? Would you rather hold a lot of smaller, cheaper items that you can turn over quickly and keep liquid? Can you think of anything that might be a mix of the two? Even though the figures above are only concerned with the final sales value (excluding postage), keep in mind the likely profit margins you might be facing on each item. Would it be enough to justify those sales?

We’ll talk more about picking and sourcing stock in a later chapter. For now, just keep the above in mind. In the upcoming sections, we will be covering Advanced Turbocharged Sales Strategy, getting you setup for a smooth PowerSeller ride out the other side. Topics will include all of the following, not neccessarilly in this oder:

• Feedback is King
• Customer Satisfaction
• Analytics
• Cross Promotions
• Stores
• 99p Vs BIN
• Upgrades
• Invoices, Slips and Surveys

In the mean time, I hope you're still enjoying the ride so far and are getting decent results. If you're getting stuck, or things aren't quite going the way you were expecting, fire away with questions or drop me a PM.

NEXT UP: FEEDBACK IS KING

 

[Dezzamondo]

Sorry for the lack of updates!

However, I'm now a few days away from releasing the book!!! It's been typed up in draft form and I've managed to get some friends proofreading it as I type this, along with someone from Fiverr making up my cover. Holy crap I'm excited! Once it's up I'll make a post about it, along with its free purchase period, so that INSIDERS can grab a free copy of the whole thing. I'm going to give the clickbank model a miss to make use of the Amazon exclusivity offers.

After launch, I'll start pulling the pages out and stick them into the thread with a focus on you guys.

Arrgh! I can't believe it's finally coming to an end! WOOHOO!!

 

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

[Bosstradamus]

thanks for dropping the knowledge on us. Good luck with the book!

 

[Nomad]

Hey Dezza thanks for sharing this with the forum!

Here's a pretty inexpensive way to create a lightbox I found using a cardboard box and some tissue paper.

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox