The way many of us get started on a site like eBay is by selling some of the unwanted things we have around the house on there, second hand stuff. Of course that's no great surprise, but what does surprise me is how many have success with that stating point and then decide to stop and move in a different direction.
It's almost like selling Second Hand was fine to start with, but now it's too amateur or something and they've out grown Second Hand and now need better supply sources. Well those of you that spend any time reading what I write will know that I started on eBay in Second Hand many, many moons ago, and if I was still selling today, it would still be Second Hand I would be selling on there.
I can never work out what the big attraction of dropshipping is to so many, everyone trying to sell the same things in the same place and wondering why on earth they can't make a success of it. OK, maybe a bit overstated, but when did Second Hand become such a dirty word?
If you're struggling with dropshipping, then why not put a few dollars aside and try a little Second Hand sourcing one weekend. Get out and hit the yard sales early on Saturday morning. Good tip, try the higher socioeconomic areas closest to you ..... yes, even the richer among us have yard sales and it then follows that some of the gear you will find may well be of a high standard ....... increasing your chances of good margins!
Don't be afraid of talking a deal, just because the prices are marked down doesn't mean you can't get them even cheaper. Try not to buy just one or two items, see if you can bundle together 6 or more items that have good profit potential. If you bundle you can then make an offer on the complete bundle, not on each individual item and that will usually result in you getting a far better deal for yourself ........ again, increasing your chances of making good margins
Set the alarm clock, it's the early bird that gets the best deals here. Dealers will typically cue up waiting for the gates to open if they have a sniff of something good in there and you need to be on their heels or you'll be picking through scraps most of the time ........ but not always!
Now you can't beat all of them of course, so it's still well worth hitting them late morning, early afternoon. What can happen is some people don't nego heavily early on because the day is just starting, they're full of coffee and the anticipation is high. As the day starts to drag on and they would rather be at the beach, the anticipation has gone and their interest in negotiating grows ever stronger because they just want to be anywhere else, but there at this point, and if you're luck enough to come across one that held out early and is stuck sitting on some choice items, you can get a serious win!
This is the best time for the larger bigger dollar items that they had high hopes of selling, especially furniture items!
That's just yard sales, don't over look markets, charity shops, anything of that nature, even local classifieds. There are squillions of bargains out there, all with plenty of profit if you want to go after them!
Yes, you do need to know what you're buying, but that comes with time and plenty of research. Once you have that down and you develop a keen eye for a bargain, all you need to do is be able to talk a good deal and you may well find that you're not only out and about having fun, but making some good money while doing it.
The one thing people over look with Second Hand is repeat business. A lot of buyers will always keep an eye on your listings once they see some steady variety of items flowing through just to make sure they don't miss out. What about developing a spotters list, take requests on items from people looking for particular items and you've got ready made sales just waiting to cash in on.
My suggestion, don't over look Second Hand, there are a stack of opportunities in that business model!
