buying right

I was just checking a few things out salehoo vs ebays selling. I found a set of four lady bug solar lights for sale by a supplier for 39.95 and I found the very same set of lights that sold on Ebay for 36.99. Would it be safe to assume that the suppliers price is a retail and if it is how do you find out the wholesale price. I am very new at this and looking to learn and get started.
thank you sgt frank

Not a completely safe assumption, however when you are wanting wholesale prices it's always a good idea to call the supplier and discuss your purchasing options.

What volume of items you wish to purchase, and what sort of volume discount they can provide for that amount.

I would suggest looking for other sellers of the same item, you really need to know all of your competition, not just one or two. That will give you an exact idea of what price you will need to secure the items for to allow you to compete.

When you have that dollar amount firm in your mind, then you can start talking to suppliers about what numbers you have to buy in to secure that per item price.

Cheers

Welcome sgtfrank,

Marc's right, you always have to remember that wholesalers don't often list their bulk prices on their website. You will need to login or contact the wholesalers to view prices. Wholesalers do this to protect retailers like you. It might be your money's worth to spend even 5 minutes of your time to sign up with wholesalers (or email then directly) and see how much the items are at different order volumes.

Also you have to remember that eBay has become an extremely competitive marketplace and it is not uncommon to find products selling at prices the same as or lower than wholesaler.

How can this be? Because lots of wholesalers sell on eBay directly to the public! Unfair yes, but its the reality.

What can you do about it?
* Order in bulk quantities to drive the wholesale price down
* Sell on another auction site 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)
* Buy liquidation – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. (I’ll let you in on a secret, this is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days)
* Find a niche market with few competitors – 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.

Cheers!