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Going for it. Ecommerce.

JByers210

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I've been on this forum for months now and have been reading non-stop just about every day trying to learn more and more about everything I can here. I'm done action faking and watching from the sidelines. I'm taking action.

Here are my why's:
#1. Freedom from going to college for the sake of going to college
#2. To shove it in every person's face that doubted and doubts me
#3. To become free at a young age.

I've been working full-time this summer driving for a tire company delivering and picking up wheels and tires all over the state. While driving I've listened to TMF at least three times straight through and almost through Unscripted . I've read both but hearing them and thinking about what is being said really helps it all sink in. This whole summer since I've read Unscripted , I've noticed how much people around me embrace the script without question. I recently was talking to an older man and talking about his job. He said he loved working even though he didn't have to. I congratulated him on being happy with what he was doing in life. It's not often you find someone that is content like that. Right after that, he told me, "You better get used to working. You will be doing it for the rest of your life. With Healthcare and Medicare, you'll have to so you have to learn to enjoy it." No hopes, no dreams, no chance is what that sounded like to me. I hated it.



I'm starting this thread in hopes that the people behind me can look at this and learn from my failures and successes. I've been looking at @ddall @PTP @biophase and learning from their threads. Thank you all for the threads and help you've given for free, it's inspired me to go on and take risks and dive into ecommerce. I have so much to learn but I'm excited and I want to learn and go through the process.
Also.. Thank you MJ. Your books and this forum have given me hope and have helped steer me in the right direction.

Right now I am in the phase of researching and figuring out which products I want to start selling and doing the hard/easy way as biophase explains in one of his threads.
1) Find a product that needs improvement
2) Improve it and add value
3) Sell through amazon

I'll be updating my progress on here as much as possible.
 
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Last edited:
D

Deleted2BB3x9

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I would recommend reading my thread "Newbie Importing and Selling on Amazon" if you are just getting started.
Not sure if you seen my thread or not, but I noticed a lot of people do not give me credit.
This isn't the first time I see a newbie skip over my thread.

If you haven't seen it yet, then I would recommend reading it. I feel it would help you.
I don't get much credit but the thread has over 30k views. Not sure how you missed it.

Other than that, I wish you good luck on your journey.
 
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Greg R

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[QUOTE="BusinessBen, post: 629524, member: 23779"
I noticed a lot of people do not give credit where it is due.
Sorry, this isn't the first time I see a newbie skip over my thread.[/QUOTE]

Really???

You are surprised that people don't give credit to your thread?... Sounds a little arrogant to me. And the fact that your recommending a thread based on your failed business venture makes me wonder.
 
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D

Deleted2BB3x9

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You are surprised that people don't give credit to your thread?... Sounds a little arrogant to me. And the fact that your recommending a thread based on your failed business venture make me wonder.

Let him respond. See if he finds it valuable or not. It's not about the failure but the process. I feel you can actually learn more from failure than success. If you don't find it valuable, then I guess you're saying the 30k other people who read my thread are also wrong.

@JByers210 Sorry for interrupting your thread.
 
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PTP

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I've been on this forum for months now and have been reading non-stop just about every day trying to learn more and more about everything I can here. I'm done action faking and watching from the sidelines. I'm taking action.

Here are my why's:
#1. Freedom from going to college for the sake of going to college
#2. To shove it in every person's face that doubted and doubts me
#3. To become free at a young age.

I've been working full-time this summer driving for a tire company delivering and picking up wheels and tires all over the state. While driving I've listened to TMF at least three times straight through and almost through Unscripted . I've read both but hearing them and thinking about what is being said really helps it all sink in. This whole summer since I've read Unscripted , I've noticed how much people around me embrace the script without question. I recently was talking to an older man and talking about his job. He said he loved working even though he didn't have to. I congratulated him on being happy with what he was doing in life. It's not often you find someone that is content like that. Right after that, he told me, "You better get used to working. You will be doing it for the rest of your life. With Healthcare and Medicare, you'll have to so you have to learn to enjoy it." No hopes, no dreams, no chance is what that sounded like to me. I hated it.



I'm starting this thread in hopes that the people behind me can look at this and learn from my failures and successes. I've been looking at @ddall @PTP @biophase and learning from their threads. Thank you all for the threads and help you've given for free, it's inspired me to go on and take risks and dive into ecommerce. I have so much to learn but I'm excited and I want to learn and go through the process.
Also.. Thank you MJ. Your books and this forum have given me hope and have helped steer me in the right direction.

Right now I am in the phase of researching and figuring out which products I want to start selling and doing the hard/easy way as biophase explains in one of his threads.
1) Find a product that needs improvement
2) Improve it and add value
3) Sell through amazon

I'll be updating my progress on here as much as possible.

Good luck man! Looking forward to seeing your progress:)

Here's a podcast episode you may find helpful: How to Sell on Amazon The Right Way, with Ryan Daniel Moran

Also, the first few chapters of the book Ready, Fire, Aim recommended to me by @amp0193 are particularly helpful when starting out.
 

JByers210

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I would recommend reading my thread "Newbie Importing and Selling on Amazon" if you are just getting started.
Not sure if you seen my thread or not, but I noticed a lot of people do not give credit where it is due.
Sorry, this isn't the first time I see a newbie skip over my thread.

If you haven't seen it yet, then I would recommend reading it. I feel it would help you.
I don't get much credit but the thread has over 30k views. Not sure how you missed it.

Other than that, I wish you good luck on your journey.
The reason I haven't read over your thread or noticed it is because it wasn't marked notable or Gold. It seems like most of the time when it's neither that it's a work in progress or it's not a very helpful thread. It does come across like you expect everyone to look at your thread before doing anything Ecommerce. This isn't the first time you see a newbie skip over your thread? It's definitely not the last! I'm definitely open to advice from you or talking but let your thread speak for itself.
 
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JByers210

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Good luck man! Looking forward to seeing your progress:)

Here's a podcast episode you may find helpful: How to Sell on Amazon The Right Way, with Ryan Daniel Moran

Also, the first few chapters of the book Ready, Fire, Aim recommended to me by @amp0193 are particularly helpful when starting out.

Thanks man!!! I'll listen to it on the road today. I really look up to you and what you've done. Any and all advice from you is very welcome. Stay in touch!
 
D

Deleted2BB3x9

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The reason I haven't read over your thread or noticed it is because it wasn't marked notable or Gold. It seems like most of the time when it's neither that it's a work in progress or it's not a very helpful thread. It does come across like you expect everyone to look at your thread before doing anything Ecommerce. This isn't the first time you see a newbie skip over your thread? It's definitely not the last! I'm definitely open to advice from you or talking but let your thread speak for itself.

Yes, the thread was created before "Notable" threads became a thing. It's not gold but it's still very valuable and one of the most viewed progress threads on the forum. Stop making excuses and learn from someone with experience. I was trying to help you and now i'm done. Good luck. Don't PM me.

Read the thread, take notes, and i'm sure you'll change your mind. It's not step-by-step but you can learn a lot of valuable information. Not just from me but from other successful entrepreneurs who posted in the thread. Time to take action and stop arguing on the internet over a couple words.
 

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Thanks man!!! I'll listen to it on the road today. I really look up to you and what you've done. Any and all advice from you is very welcome. Stay in touch!

Absolutely! It really helps frame your mindset from more than just selling a product and makes you think along the lines of starting a long term business.

Any advice from me should definitely be taken with a grain of salt because honestly I'm still baby in business and have a lot to learn/accomplish. With that said I'm more than happy to post what I learn as I figure it out :p
 
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I would recommend reading my thread "Newbie Importing and Selling on Amazon" if you are just getting started.
Not sure if you seen my thread or not, but I noticed a lot of people do not give me credit.
Sorry, this isn't the first time I see a newbie skip over my thread.

If you haven't seen it yet, then I would recommend reading it. I feel it would help you.
I don't get much credit but the thread has over 30k views. Not sure how you missed it.

He missed it because the last post in the thread was in Sept 2016 and he would have had to scroll to page 8 in 1 of the 23 sub-forums here. Yeah, now sure how he missed it. :smuggy:
 

JByers210

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I've decided on my first product to import and sell. It wasn't some overnight product search, I've been searching for a product the past couple months even though I was in action faking mode and wouldn't have actually done anything with it. The time is now!!

Adding Value
There are only around 6 competitors selling this same products, all with most of the same complaints. I don't know how reliable these amazon scout tools are, but I used it and every single person selling this product is bringing in around 1K a month in profit. I plan on adding value to this product by modifying it so it works year round, unlike the others. This is based off of @biophase thread which talks about doing it the hard/easy way vs the easy/hard way. I'm not sure how much the cost will be for this but that's just a barrier to entry which actually is something that excites me. I haven't asked for a price yet for the modification on it but I will tonight.

Barriers to Entry:
Lack of Funds
(Solution: Keep working and saving $ from my full-time job while also flipping things after work to get to where I want faster)

Lack of Knowledge about the shipping part of this
(Solution: Read through the forum and find out through researching)

I am going to make this listing the best one out of the others on top of having a superior product. As far as marketing this goes, I'm not going to act like I know anything. I'm going to start an Instagram page for this business and learn how to make it grow and possibly get sales and interest with it. I've been listening to a ton of GaryVee's content and his Instagram DM strategy of business collaborating by trading value is something I am going to test.
 

sparechange

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for online marketing i can vouch for facebook boosted posts...got alot of traffic from that, gl in your journey
 
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I've decided on my first product to import and sell. It wasn't some overnight product search, I've been searching for a product the past couple months even though I was in action faking mode and wouldn't have actually done anything with it. The time is now!!

Lack of Knowledge about the shipping part of this
(Solution: Read through the forum and find out through researching)
You will find some helpful information in my AMA:
GOLD Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Walter
 

JByers210

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JByers210

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I've got a sample of the product coming in a week or two. Once it's in, the plan is to figure out how to fix the problem that has caused so many complaints. I have a friend who is an engineer that will also take a look at it with me to see if he has anything he can help with. I've been listening to Cashvertising while on the road all day and I downloaded a couple Ecommerce books from the Amazon store. Still have to learn all about the shipping part of this business.
 

JByers210

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I've been getting a lot done such as testing the actual product myself, finding out how to improve it already, figuring out all the costs of this, and just plain executing! I have so much to learn, but I want to learn more every day. I'll post in more detail later but just want to keep up with my progress on here.
 

JByers210

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I've figured out a way to add major value to the product in two major ways and have tested it thoroughly. I looked at all the negative reviews for the product on Amazon and focused on the two biggest ones. If I could list it now I know it would be the most valuable product out of the five others.

Here is what I have to do until I am up and selling:

  1. Get a business license and figure out taxes
  2. Register for an Amazon Seller account
  3. Figure out total fees for everything and import to Amazon FBA
  4. Learn as much copywriting as possible to use in description and get the best images for listing as possible during this time.
  5. Get my first sale online!
I have so much to learn. I'm willing to fail over and over if that is what it takes to become successful. This is my first time actually focusing on adding value for people and I have to admit...this is a good time!!! I'm excited to think that people will benefit from something I put time into and improved. I'll keep posting as time goes on!
 
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Sounds like you're motivated! Keep at it. Look forward to hearing more
 

JByers210

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I just bought an LLC package through LegalZoom and paid 320$ total for it. It will take 30 days for the process to be completed and thus 30 days until I can set up my Amazon Seller so here is what I will be doing in the meantime:
  1. Learning as much about copywriting as possible in every second of my free time (not working, working out, or spending quality time with my girlfriend) so I can write up my own copy
  2. Have my two suppliers ready to ship out to Amazon.
I'm nervous... but also so pumped for this. I've never done anything like this but I have a feeling there is something amazing on the other side. I've put the work and time in to find this product, figure out how to improve it and test it, and I am more than willing to put my money where my mouth is.

On top of my job, I've been flipping things to make extra cash. The other night before I fell asleep, I saw that new basketball shoes came out of a player that I am a big fan of. I know basketball shoes well and instantly bought 800$ worth of those shoes. I've already sold one for a 50$ profit just for flipping it. That's not a lot... but I make 60$ for a days worth of work right now. I have four more pairs that could easily be worth 50-100$ profit. I'm hustling and creating my first business and it feels amazing to actually execute and do instead of watch others and action-fake.
 

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Just paid 225$ for my first order of 20 pieces through PayPal. When I first started to pay Alibaba took me to a "verification by visa" shady website and I refused to pay through it and requested to use PayPal. They agreed and paid the fee for the trouble.

Here is what I am waiting on:

  1. LegalZoom to finish filing my LLC and get my Tax ID in the next 10-15 days
  2. My 20 pieces to come in
Since I decided to just take action, and started this progress thread...It's only made me take more action and learn more every single day. I've been doing what MJ has said and given myself three tasks to accomplish every day to get closer to my goal of making my first sale. I'm thinking less emotional about this and more logical. I don't care how much I'm putting in because I believe in what I'm doing. I refuse to go to college for the next four years and I refuse to sit around on the weekends and just chill the entire time like everyone else does. I know that every weekend I don't work on this or my pursuit in freedom, it's just another week of Monday through Friday 9-5 workdays.
 
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JByers210

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My LLC is about ready and my 20 products are in. I'm miserable at home and feel trapped here. I always think about moving out and how amazing it would be...so I'm going to move out in a month or two and live with a friend at his house. I helped his family move out of their house in my neighborhood to a house 20 minutes away. A ton of carrying large furniture down and upstairs right after I got off work and was already beat but I didn't mind for them. I guess they want me to live with them for free with him in the new basement because of how big it is!! I'll pay them 100-200$ a month at least so there are no problems. If I'm paying for my car, car insurance, and gas.... why not? Not much else to account for if my living costs are free.

How am I going to pay for college if my parents won't?
This semester is paid for but after that if my parents aren't willing to pay I'm for sure not. I hate college. The last three classes I've been in I watched Brad Pitt fight scenes from the movie Troy, listened to my psychology professor ask if we played with ourselves the night before class while we slept, and been learning about infant sexuality. What is any of that doing for me!? I don't want to learn any of the crap I'm being taught and watching my parents pay for. I refuse to go into debt for that or spend every cent I earn.

Here is what I need to accomplish this week:
  1. Get my Instagram followers to 1K
  2. Get my 200 units ready to get shipped here
  3. Set up Amazon Seller account
  4. Figure out how to bundle my product
  5. Possibly set up my own ecommerce single product website
There's a lot more to read and learn but those are the major goals. If anyone has any advice or help please give it to me!!! Would love to hear it,
 

JByers210

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My LLC is formed!!! I've finally been able to create my Amazon seller account with my LLC information and Tax ID (EIN). I've got 20 units without my logo on them, not sure how this will go due to them not being branded but hoping they sell. I'm placing an order for 200 pieces with my logo on them for 1600$. This will be the biggest risk I've taken so far in my 18 short years of life lol. I'm nervous but I know this can work. I'm purchasing them this week or next due to the production time being 30 days.

Here is what I have to do to get my first $:
  • Get photos of my 20 products without logo for amazon. Might do myself.
  • Get UPC codes necessary and learn to bundle.
  • Ship to FBA
I'm so pumped. I have friends, family members, and co-workers rooting for me that would never do this and can't believe how much time and money I'm putting into it. To be honest, if any of this works at all, I have @PTP to thank. His story and content have inspired me so much to do what I never thought I would or could. When I found out he hadn't graduated high school yet and already was into all of this and doing well, it made me feel like I could do this at 18 too. I'm still working at the tire shop. It's so mind numbing just staring at road for 7-8 hours a day. I want to quit so bad but an older friend gave me sound advice saying that I need constant cash flow and backup money to support this business and myself if this is going to work. So because of my goals and ambition to make this work, I'm going to bite the bullet and stay at the job until this business can take care of itself. I'm working my head off and also going to stupid college learning about the weirdest junk. I'm extremely motivated to get out of both college and the need to work at a job. I'll keep updating this as I go!!! I honestly hope that in a couple years someone that is wandering will come across this and realize that they can do it too in the way PTP did for me. Any words of advice, thoughts, or just responses knowing that people are seeing this would be awesome!!! Thanks for taking the time to read this :)
 

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keep hustling, you can get there. focus
 
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amp0193

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I've got 20 units without my logo on them, not sure how this will go due to them not being branded but hoping they sell. I'm placing an order for 200 pieces with my logo on them for 1600$. This will be the biggest risk I've taken so far in my 18 short years of life lol. I'm nervous but I know this can work. I'm purchasing them this week or next due to the production time being 30 days.

Just curious, why did you order 20 units originally?

Was it just to inspect quality of the product?

Was it to test if you could get it to sell on Amazon?


If the first reason, then go ahead and order the 200 pcs. If the 2nd... you should think about waiting to see if they sell before you order the 200 pcs.

an older friend gave me sound advice saying that I need constant cash flow and backup money to support this business and myself if this is going to work. So because of my goals and ambition to make this work, I'm going to bite the bullet and stay at the job until this business can take care of itself.

Yes, cash flow, you'll need that.

Also, bootstrapping an import business is frustratingly slow. There's lots of downtime where there's not much you can do except wait for shipments to arrive. You might as well be working a job and making some cash during that time.
 

JByers210

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Just curious, why did you order 20 units originally?

Was it just to inspect quality of the product?

Was it to test if you could get it to sell on Amazon?


If the first reason, then go ahead and order the 200 pcs. If the 2nd... you should think about waiting to see if they sell before you order the 200 pcs.



Yes, cash flow, you'll need that.

Also, bootstrapping an import business is frustratingly slow. There's lots of downtime where there's not much you can do except wait for shipments to arrive. You might as well be working a job and making some cash during that time.
I got them just for the sake of testing how well they'd sell. I'm going to get pictures and list it asap because I guess it's known that Amazon won't let new FBA sellers sell during the 4th Quarter so I'm also hurrying up so I can have some sales and just make it into this next quarter. Do you think that it matters if the logo is generic and not custom? The actual product and what I'm putting with it is one of if not the best version of this product on Amazon. Thanks for responding and helping out!!
 
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amp0193

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I got them just for the sake of testing how well they'd sell. I'm going to get pictures and list it asap because I guess it's known that Amazon won't let new FBA sellers sell during the 4th Quarter so I'm also hurrying up so I can have some sales and just make it into this next quarter. Do you think that it matters if the logo is generic and not custom? The actual product and what I'm putting with it is one of if not the best version of this product on Amazon. Thanks for responding and helping out!!

Amazon customers don't care about logos, generally.

What matters is the product, and having good product pictures.
 

JByers210

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Amazon customers don't care about logos, generally.

What matters is the product, and having good product pictures.

Alright, I'll just get photos done for these then and see how these sell. Amazing advice man, thank you!!!! :)
 

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