Very aggravated


jwillia73
Free Member
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  • Joined: 23 Sep 11
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25 Sep 11 09:12:32 pm
I spend hours searching these suppliers,several want money to join, then when you do,you still cant compete. every product i look at, i do an ebay search on that item and find people selling it much cheaper. Im just about ready to go back to selling more stuff out of my attic. Does anyone really make money here? Any advice?


fudjj
Site Admin
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  • Joined: 27 Jul 07
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25 Sep 11 09:23:41 pm
Yes, people do make money on eBay, but it can take a lot of work at times. I'm not aware of the type of products you are looking at, but I'll just run through what can usually happen.

People will look to drop ship popular selling items on eBay, big problems straight away with that theory. Just because they want to drop ship, doesn't mean everyone else is drop shipping on eBay. You are selling against people who are spending cash up front to buy products at discounts prices, then cutting their margins to create turnover.

Drop shipping can never compete with that business model. Drop shipping provides convenience and saves you outlay upfront, but it doesn't deliver big margins.

It can take what seems like forever to research a market effectively, and even when you think you have identified one, then you need to test it.

If it is popular products you are looking at selling, try to steer clear of them and start digging down further into markets where products sell, but aren't exactly hot. You will find that margins can be better on these types of products.


Mark (fudjj)

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jwillia73
Free Member
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: 23 Sep 11
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26 Sep 11 12:16:47 pm
Yeah i have been trying to steer clear of popular items,I am looking for seasonal stuff, hunting supplies, fishing supplies,pond supplies,and maybe some auto accessories


fudjj
Site Admin
  • Posts: 6496
  • Joined: 27 Jul 07
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26 Sep 11 09:34:45 pm
Ok, the problem you have with choosing seasonal is that in season, they can be very hot items.

There are always marketing tactics you can employ to get an advantage, perhaps something like bundling. Instead of listing a fishing rod, list a fishing rod with tackle as well.

The trick to making money from a tactic like bundling is that you cut your margin to zero, or extremely low on the bundled items you have added, only making your margin on your main item, in this case the fishing rod.

When I say cut your margin, I am talking about profit. When using this tactic you have to always remember to watch your shipping cost. It's not just one item any more, so ensure that is always calculated accurately.

What you have done by using this method is made it far cheaper for someone to buy the complete kit from you, rather than buy the items individually from your competitors.

There is of course a down side, and that is you can limit your market as not everyone will want that pack you have bundled, so choosing items that accompany each other well is seriously important when using this tactic. You don't want to bundle a fishing rod with craft glue lol

If you are using drop shipping, I strongly suggest you bundle items from the one supplier, choosing items to bundle together on a single listing from different suppliers can result in different delivery times, and that can result in unhappy customers.

The beauty about this type of tactic, it can allow you to create listings that are quite unique, and can really give you a point of difference in an over crowded marketplace ..... be it eBay or anywhere at all!


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