I truly understand your frustrations, marsbars89 :(
But you must also understand that eBay is a more of a wholesale platform than retail. That is why oftentimes sellers will get deeply disappointed when they source for products and use the prices they see on eBay as their basis of comparison.
eBay has become an extremely competitive marketplace and it is not uncommon to find products selling at prices the same as or lower than wholesale. How can this be? Lots of wholesalers sell on eBay directly to the public! Unfair yes, but its the reality.
You can try selling on other auction sites other than eBay – there are heaps to choose from and profit margins are usually better. Craigslist is also a good place to sell if you live in the USA. (Let us know if you need more suggestions for places to sell online)
Or try buying liquidated products – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. This is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days.
Also finding a niche market with few competitors like collectibles and one-off items have amazing profit margins, even on eBay. These days, you have to be pretty savvy to survive on eBay, so I hope we’ve given you some ideas.
With regards to suppliers not responding, you can try calling them as the phone is often a much more effective way of contacting suppliers than email. Suppliers often have a backlog of support emails to deal with, so it may take a few days for them to get back to you. Whereas with phone, you get priority straight away.
If the supplier/s still haven't contacted you after 3 business days, please email us their name, email address, and URL so that we can follow up.
Hope this helps :)