[AMA] Importing & wholesaling for resale on eBay.

[Ecom man]

Great thread so far!

How is your legal setup? LLC or something similar?

When I started I didn't have anything at all besides a seller account and a credit card. I do have an LLC now that I use. Don't get bogged down with paperwork etc as an LLC can take a while to complete. Get started finding products and selling them and then you can go from there. I am obviously not a lawyer so I can't tell you which type of corp would be best (LLC S-corp etc.)

 

[s168]

Great thread Ecom Man. I started some small time importing and reselling from dhgate a few years ago, mainly selling phone screen protectors and some phone chargers. Sold them online and offline. Low margins in terms of value, but great in terms of percentage gains. I stopped that to focus on a Fastlane venture since.

My advice is to keep an eye on what is selling well without too much competition. Some competition is OK, so long as the margins make it worth your while, as it confirms a market exists for you to profit from.

Always order smaller batches initially to see how well they sell. Your sales rate will help you determine whether to restock or not and by what rate. Look at products that are evergreen or aren't short term trends so you know you are unlikely to have to discount prices heavily should your products lose marketplace demand and you have lots of unsold stock. (I learnt my lesson on that one!)

If selling online, make the advert/listing as comprehensive and professional as possible. Include excellent photos (avoid crappy stock images that everyone uses if possible, to appear more genuine to buyers) and detailed descriptions. Don't copy word for word similar listings if you can avoid it. Try to create a unique style about your listings, so it creates a professional identity for you - - but this is more applicable if you intend to do this for some time with multiple related product lines. In a crowded marketplace with many dodgey sellers, users tend to rebuy from, and recommend to others, specific sellers if the service received was awesome and the reputation is great.

Just my thoughts.

 

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[SBS.95]

What does this mean? What is an evergreen product? Is it a tree analogy meaning that the product is always in demand like an evergreen's leaves are always green?

You got it. People fornicate year round, so condoms are always in demand, an evergreen product. Backyard grills are not evergreen, because most people aren't making steak outside in December.

Also it can mean products that the demand doesn't go down on over time. Again, condoms are an evergreen product because until a male birth control pill comes around, they're gonna keep selling. Whereas most electronics the value/demand wanes because the industry is constantly evolving. Think about mp3 players. 5 years ago a 4 GB player would cost $100+ and every teenager wanted one. Now they have them at the checkout line at grocery stores for $20 and no one uses them because they have smartphones. Opposite of an evergreen product.

 

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[Ecom man]

There is money to be made in almost all products it is just a matter of how the long the product cycle lasts. Some items will always be in demand, (a few of the items I currently sell) and some items will only have a good selling cycle of 6 months to a year. (some other products i currently have) As long as you know that the product's sales will drop in the future you can sell them but be careful you don't get caught with tons of stock and demand that is dropping through the floor.

On a side note I spent about an hour yesterday researching new products to import. I found 16 possible items and already ordered a sample of one of them. A few of them are too expensive to import simply because of their size and the high shipping costs but the others are looking to be great profit and lots of sales!

 

[JustinBoshans]

Hello Ecom man, I have a curious question about a product I want to import from Alibaba to sell on eBay for. Here is a scenario: When I research a product to sell for 2X the amount or more, sold than bought for; every-time I get a quote from a company on Alibaba the price is ridiculously too much and not worth making profit from. For example: Lets say the products FOB price is US $1-5 / Piece. However, the MOQ is 500 Pieces. I do not want to risk buying 500 or more pieces for a hight price. And so.. If I were to get a sample of 1 (piece) to test the product out on eBay, the price I was quoted would be 17USD and an extra 30USD or so for shipping. The the average price on the market is 35USD for this product. I will not make any profit if I do this deal and the product will probably not be sold. Also, the price to list a product on eBay costs a bit. I'm sort of confused how to make this work, what should I do?

I would do one of a few things.

1. Order more in the first order. If you did the research and the product is already selling on Ebay then you should be good but there are no guarantees. If you order more in the first order it will cost more but will be less after shipping. Then if they sell you can order more. If they don't sell at least you know and can kill it fast and find a new product.

2. I would find a cheaper product to start with. If you don't have enough money to risk higher cost items find something cheaper, then take the profit from that and ramp up.

3. I would save up more money from slow lane ventures or whatever you're doing for income currently that is set aside just for business expenses so if you do lose it you won't be too burned. This is what I did. I saved up all of my tips for a long time and got a bunch of cash I could use to take risks that wouldn't hurt me if I lost it all. I didn't just throw it any where and hope though. Keep looking. I'm sure you'll find a good product.

 

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[Dicky Dee]

Well its finally arrived after a few months of research, my biggest shipment to date by far....half a ton, here goes nothing!

 

[Ecom man]

You are out of line calling me a liar. My Ebay link is there for anyone who wanted to verify my sales history and feedback. You can see what the product sells for and how often they sell. Just thought I would try to help someone who wants to get their feet wet in this business by offering them a proven product with a steady sales history. It's a good safe way to gain some experience, make some cash and build up your positive feedback. Then they can start networking with suppliers, ordering samples and testing them on Ebay. It can be a tedious process to find a reputable supplier with a hot product that you can consistently make money with. I already did the homework on this one.

I guess we all have different ideas about what is considered a hot item. If it's small, durable, light weight, affordable and sells consistently making me 100% profit after fees and shipping I consider it a hot item. How much of a mark up do you look for in a product? Sure, $300-$600 per month is not fastlane but it's semi passive income with minimal investment. Certainly more passive then "mowing a couple lawns."

I stand by my statements. Calling it a "hot selling slam dunk" is deceptive marketing of your "wholesale selling" I would call out anyone who tried to deceive people especially on a thread that was started to HELP people not to sell them something.

Honesty is always the best policy.

 

[Tyman]

So happy I found this thread and read the book that lead me to this forum. Just put up my 2nd product and have sold 3 already with a $15 profit on each. If I continue selling 3 each day that would be $15,000 for the year which is a few thousand more than I make right now per year (last year of university, just working part time) This is amazing! Thank you very much to everyone who has participated in this thread and especially you @Ecom man, never would have thought this was possible.

 

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[Chazmania]

Hey Ecomm,

I'm loving your thread, thanks for doing it. It's kinda funny because to be completely honest, I used to think of ebay as kind of a joke, until recently understanding that many people are making serious incomes selling on it!

I laughed when I realized how wrong I was! I read some books that opened my eyes and some good info from the web in general, and of course your thread has been great.

I recently got started with selling used stuff from around the house, and I've also imported some small samples from DHgate and am already making sales. My feedback score is slowly increasing and I'm sure as it does so will my credibility with shoppers like you've said.

The cool thing is that I sold some items while having cocktails and cooking out, relaxing over the July 4th weekend on the deck. I've sold some items already while I was sleeping. I've sold while nodding out Sunday evening before bed! It's definitely becoming addictive getting all this selling done while doing nothing lol.

I've decided to block off 2 - 4 hours per day to find products and gain some traction so I can scale it up from there. This is a great introduction into e-commerce because we all need to go through the motions of finding products/suppliers/shipping channels, and then we leverage the traffic from the monsters that are ebay and amazon.

Definitely working great so far, thanks for all of your input!

 

[AlterJoule]

Are you looking for products in stores and then trying to find an equal product to import?
Could you give an example?

We just went into all the stores and looked for products that were unique and looked like something we'd use. From there we checked eBay/Amazon to scope the competition. It really hasn't been hard. By going into the stores and looking around in general to see what people are using and buying, you are literally flooded with ideas. Sitting at home you may find yourself hitting a wall or sticking to one niche. Going out expands ideas like crazy.

Also, I personally look for items with multiple uses. For example:

"Mediocre Tire Guy" might sell $5000.00 in tires a month.

"Alterjoule's Amazing Tire Co." might sell $5000.00 in tires, $2800.00 in tire swings, $3300.00 to the CrossFit guys, $1200.00 to the goKart track guys, etc... Catch my drift? No pun.

 

[Ecom man]

I'm not sure if you've mentioned it before, but do you look for a minimum amount of products sold in the Buy it Now listings before you move forward?

The higher sales the better obviously. The issue is that if someone has 1,000's sold on their buy it now there will probably be tons of competitors. I am happy with items selling 5-10 a day. Even 1 item a day is fine with me if the profits #s are good enough. I want to carry more items with smaller sales number per item. The reason is that items that sell hundreds a day are normally (not always but almost always) flooded with competition. Items selling 5 a day are far more plentiful with less competitors. If I can make $20 profit per item and sell 5 a day that is $100 profit from that one item. Find 20 of those and you are making 2k a day. Find 100 of them and 10k a day.

Is it all roses? Heck no! Is it hard work? Absolutely! When you get to the point in your business where you don't have to worry about your paycheck from your normal job anymore it makes it all worthwhile. Oh, and the fact that I am basically closing down from Thursday - the end of year to go on a well deserved vacation is nice too!

 

[Bossopolis]

Hey guys,

I am totally new to the forum, but I am a platinum eBay Powerseller and have a lot of experience in this arena. This may not be feasible or necessary for many, but is applicable if you resell many consumer products. I suggest that if you can afford it and it makes sense in your business, to go directly to the trade shows that are in Hong Kong. These are 2 largest shows and I usually attend these every year.

They are http://www.globalsources.com and http://www.hktdc.com/info/trade-events/EX/en/Exhibitions.htm

The flight is about 20 hours from N.Y. usually under $900, should be less if you are on the pacific coast and of course also a shorter flight time. Get ready for some serious jet lag with the 12 hour time difference from East coast to H.K., I recommend showing up a few days earlier to adjust to the time zone and maybe enjoy the sights at the same time. You do not want to show up the day before because you will be like a zombie for first 24 hours. For hotels I recommend www.AirBNB.com have saved huge on my trips in North America.

Sometimes the 2 shows are ran around the same time, so if you plan well, you can hit both shows. There are THOUSANDS of booths / vendors. You need at LEAST 2 days for each show and your legs will feel like rubber after all the walking you will be doing... They are mostly manufacturers and wholesalers at these shows, so you will need some capital to invest. But there are ways around ordering 1000's units at first. First thing you ask is what is your "M.O.Q." ? - Minimum Order Quantity. This is usually negotiable. Of course there are many more things you need to know, but that's a start...

I will be creating some YouTube videos over next several months. In the meantime I just wanted to show you a little about how I got started.
3 tips: 1) create your OWN BRAND ! You must stand out from the masses 2) ADD VALUE and 3) do not be the cheapest guy in your niche... the Chinese will kick your a$$ every time on this one, you cannot compete with them on their low shipping costs alone. Never mind the fact that you may actually be competing with a distributor or manufacturer directly in some cases.

I will be attending these shows again in Hong Kong in a couple of months and will record the experience so people can get an idea. Its actually quite overwhelming if you have never done one of these. But so cool and eye opening. And if you play your cards right, also profitable !

Hope my first post was worthy

Peace everyone !

 

[million$$$smile]

I was an Ebay seller since 2002. I always treated it as a step-child business even though I was selling low five figures monthly. I was recently banned due to an issue of some old listings that have been on Ebay since my early days. Seems that we had an old email account on a few listings for payments to Paypal (thus we never received payments) and we couldn't understand why customers were complaining that we were not accepting the funds. 5 or 6 of those customers contacted Ebay and we were banned shortly thereafter. This all occurred within 45 days until we finally figured out why we were not receiving funds from them. It then was too little too late.

Now even after trying to rectify the situation with the customers, we were banned.
I have read it is extremely rare to have the ban removed and resume selling.
Needless to say, it was a bit frustrating.
But, I have come to terms with it and look at it as a positive. I can now focus more energy on my Amazon business and my other endeavors.

I'm sharing this because I know I failed at keeping my eye on a stream of income but also to take heed that marketplaces violate the Commandment of Control.

They have the last word, and in essence have the control. Don't forget it.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, OP, just sharing what could possibly happen....

 

[Ecom man]

Just a quick update/ word of advice from my personal experience.

Don't wait to hire!

I waited to hire my first employee as long as possible until I literally couldn't handle the work anymore. Things were going undone and it was costing me money (wasted 45k in ad spend on Bing because their broad match was showing my ads for crap search terms and I didn't catch it fast enough). Had I hired someone earlier I would have saved that ad spend and would be way farther ahead of where I am now in regards to building the business.

In the couple weeks since hiring someone he has done 2 huge projects that I have been working on for months! Besides that having someone take care of the day to day operations (packages and customer service) has absolutely changed my life! I now actually have time to get things accomplished that have needed done for a while and work more on my business. (Plus a little extra free time with the family) I read and implemented one small conversion optimization tip on this last Monday that has increased my sales by close to 40%! Man I wish I had hired someone earlier!

 

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[Ecom man]

Hello,

I am new and reading through this thread. My question is....How is this a Fast Lane business? I thought the whole reason was freedom? To have passive income? Isn't selling like this almost like working a job but just for yourself?

Thank you just trying to learn

I just went on a three week vacation. The person I hired fulfilled all the orders and handled customer service for me. I didn't touch a computer for work for 2 of those 3 weeks. Does that sound fast lane to you?

 

[Paleo]

Great thread-this is something I have been thinking about getting into and this has got me started.

After a couple of hours on Alibaba found a neat little product that meets all the criteria- small, easily shippable, appealing design, widespread need, other sellers in the niche but no one selling this product with a design that differentiates it, pricing for same niche products is affordable for anyone but still 400-800% over wholesale cost. Emailed the factory-hopefully can get a sample order and the products works right. Now back to searching for another product......

Oh-and rep transferred to Ecom Man

 

[Vigilante]

Speed + as this thread gains traction. I do not know you, but have been watching your responses and they are solid. Thanks for a great thread. Rock on. - Vigilante

 

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[Ecom man]

Hello Ecom man, I have a curious question about a product I want to import from Alibaba to sell on eBay for. Here is a scenario: When I research a product to sell for 2X the amount or more, sold than bought for; every-time I get a quote from a company on Alibaba the price is ridiculously too much and not worth making profit from. For example: Lets say the products FOB price is US $1-5 / Piece. However, the MOQ is 500 Pieces. I do not want to risk buying 500 or more pieces for a hight price. And so.. If I were to get a sample of 1 (piece) to test the product out on eBay, the price I was quoted would be 17USD and an extra 30USD or so for shipping. The the average price on the market is 35USD for this product. I will not make any profit if I do this deal and the product will probably not be sold. Also, the price to list a product on eBay costs a bit. I'm sort of confused how to make this work, what should I do?

Justin hit it perfectly. I never order a sample of one item. I normally order 5,10, or even 20. If it's a lighter product the shipping increase will be small and it's hard to test the market with just one item. So if you get them at 17 each and get 10 plus I'll guess $50 in shipping you are paying $220 for the sample or $22 each. If they sell then great and if not it's only a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Ecom man]

Thanks Justin, one more question to add: Is it better to directly send the product from China to a person you sell it to on eBay? e.g. dropshipping, rather then buy the item so it comes to your door step and then pay for more shipping when you have to send it to the person who purchased the item?

I never ever ever recommend drop shipping from China! I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to check the quality of the items personally. Every company I have come across in China that would drop ship uses the slowest shipping in the world. I'm talking 30+ days for the customer to receive the item. Most of the time there is not accurate tracking either so you would be setting yourself up for neg feedback like crazy and emails all the time of where is my item etc.
You can ship out any item from your post office to their doorstep in 2-3 days with Priority Mail. Which would you be happier with, 30+ days or 3?

 

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[Ecom man]

Don't pay anyone on Fiver to "create" codes for you. I got mine from cheap-upc-barcode.com and a few other members have as well.

Beat me to it great job helping out! Rep transferred

 

[Ecom man]

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

Rep transfered.

Thank you so much Ecom Man. You rock!

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

 

[Ecom man]

Sorry the misunderstood. My mistake

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

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


So far i come up with this variables costs


- Shipping

-Paypal/CC fees

-Amazon/ebay Fees.




Am i missing any potential costs ?

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

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

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

 

[Ecom man]

Hi Ecom man,

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

Thank you!

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

 

[JustinBoshans]

I am going to scale this like crazy! My goal is to double total sales in the next year and then double that. It is easily attainable, I just have to find more products, rinse and repeat!

Turning this into a million dollar PROFIT each year shouldn't be more than 5 or so years in the future.

I bet you could do it even sooner than that.

I've paid off my first shipment of my first item with the first 3 sales I've made. I just ordered my next 3 products to test.

 

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[JustinBoshans]

Today I realized just how many products there are on DH gate. Even though there are doubles of some items, in the category of kitchen accessories alone there are over 1 million products. Opportunities to find products with great margins are abundant hehe. Back to the search.

 

[Ecom man]

Hey Econ Man, great forum you created here.

I've been selling on ebay for years but i'd like to start selling on Amazon soon, any pointers you can give me as to the differences between the 2 platforms?

Amazon is super strict with their metrics! Make sure you get everything shipped as fast as possible and make sure you sell good quality items. If your items break quickly Amazon has their A-Z return policy that will kill you. Too many returns and they will shut your account down so fast it will make your head spin.

Just start slow as you learn the ropes. Read all of their little policy things about where you can put your listing, what quality of items they want etc.

Amazon customers NEVER read the little description you can put under your item describing condition, shipping speed etc. Even if you say that shipping takes a week and a half they will complain like crazy cause your shipping took "too long". Amazon will always side with the customers so you have to work through idiots that feel empowered even more so then eBay.

 

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[Ecom man]

I wanted to thank you for this information for making a thread. I've been running into a few issues with the start of my search. I'll list them out.

1. I read about your idea about getting some of your ideas off Amazon's top selling list. So I decided to search for whatever that looked decent and started to compare them on dhgate/alibaba/aliexpress. Some sellers on there still work with you yes, but they still require a hefty MOQ. One offered me a 5,000 MOQ down to 1,000 but it was still around 20 some dollars per item. This was with Alibaba.

2. Related to no.2. I did find a few items that have workable margins. Such widget costs me 20 dollars and can be turned around for 40. The problem is that there are about 50 or more sellers give or take selling that same one or similar. Of these sellers, there is a TOP-RATED seller who is raking in most of the sales. In this situation, should I just avoid and look eslewhere?

3. I found a generic product being sold on Alibaba that is similar to the name brand of the item. The name brand sells very well. Should I consider selling a generic item and see how well it sells?

4. What do you do about getting merchandise that is shipped via ocean freight? You mentioned that you carry some heavy items. I talked to a few suppliers on Alibaba and they offered ocean freight but the merchandise would end at the port. This means I'd have to pick it up and would be a massive pain since I don't own a truck to haul such merchandise back. Is there some company that you use or do you tell the supplier to use some other company to get the merchandise directly to you? I know DHGate/Aliexpress is more ebay like so the item goes directly to you.

3. I always look for generics to sell. That is the way to go for sure. Testing is the only way to know for sure. Just understand you cant use the name brand as the title for example "just like apple iphone 5s" eBay doesn't allow that.

4. I have not done anything ocean freight yet. I ship everything DHL, FEDEX, EMS, or other express shipping. I want things delivered to my door as quickly as possible so I can either a. Start making money on it b. Find out it doesn't sell and move on to the next item.

 

[Ecom man]

CarrieW you are right on all counts! Order any name brand from Alibaba and you are just asking to be scammed. Most name brands won't sell wholesale unless it is EXTREME bulk sales and they will many times walk away once the find out you are just selling online with no brick and mortor presence.

Bboyu
There is tons of money to be made in selling generic brands or with simply no brand on it at all. If you feel like you need to sell name brands to make any sales/money you are mistaken.

 

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[Ecom man]

Hey ecom man! To date I've made over 100 dollars profit just from my first item. I know that isn't a ton but it was mostly passive, and has funded all the rest of my next items. Thanks again man you rock! Rep transfered

Congrats!!! That's awesome to hear. The first $100 turns into the first $1,000 that turns into the first $10,000!!!!! Keep at it and never give up!

 

[Ecom man]

Thanks. Could this not become a fastlane venture? If you treat your customers right and move towards services that ship direct (automation) etc. I know it is a crowded space, but as ecom man states, there is still lots of worthwhile products to focus on and there are sellers out there making $1M+ per year.
Great thread BTW

The opportunities are really endless. You can do this as a part time ($1,000 a month) You can ramp it up to replace your income entirely ($10,000 a month) or even crank it to over drive and be totally fastlane ($100,000 a month and more)

 

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