Ever since finding my first successful product about two years ago on Ebay, I've been researching other products that I might be able to sell of Ebay. To me, this is one of the hardest parts of becoming successful. With one other product line under my belt, I could make a full time living instead of a part time one. I still haven't found one that I am very excited about. Now my dilemma is that I have all of my Ebay eggs in one basket.
If you intend to make a full time living, or even a good part time living on Ebay, you don't want this to happen to you. You must diversify and have at least another two back up products.
I learned very quickly how to go out of business on Ebay almost overnight. What happened didn't just happen to me, it happened to all of my competitors in my niche market as well. Our supplier who had only done this one other time and promised never to let it happen again, ran out of our product for second time in one year. Sales came to a halt. Without having inventory available either for lack of money or for trust in the supplier, there was no product to sell. Several of us had put all of our Ebay eggs in one basket so to speak.
This has prompted me to begin a search for another product more diligently. My supplier is the only distributor in the USA where I can get my product (the same for my competitors). I lost over $1,000 in sales easily in 10 days. That can equal one mortgage payment if you are living from pay check to pay check and counting on your Ebay sales to keep you going.
Therefore, in conclusion, it's not a good idea at all to have just one product line to count on. That way, if one distributor runs out of product then you can fall back on the other distributor until you can get the other product in hand. Do your research up front. Find two products and two distributors at one time and focus on those and then go out and get a third over time.
I am working now on finding a solid drop ship arrangement. There are two places I am researching and both seem to be very good places for products: The first, Worldwide Brands is excellent. You can visit this link to get the free ebook on how to start an internet business the right way by clicking this link: http://www.worldwidebrands.com/wwb/kh_freeebookHOME.asp?kbid=23296
The second is Salehoo. You will be amazed at all of the products you can find on Salehoo. You can take a free tour by clicking here: wholesale selling on ebay
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Example of What You Can Do to Make Money on Ebay
Buying and selling on Ebay is very easy. Here is one example of what you can do to make money on Ebay quickly.
One of my favorite stores is a discount store called Marshalls. You may or may not have one in your area but it is a store that sells brand name, designer clothing at a deep discount, especially at the change of seasons. If you know of a store that is like Marshalls, then this will work for you too.
Before you go, login to Ebay. One at a time, look up Polo shirts girls, then Polo shirts boys, Ralph Lauren boys, Ralph Lauren girls, Ralph Lauren baby, etc. (I always look for clothing with brand names like Ralph Lauren, Polo; Baby Phat; Tommy Hilfiger; etc.). Look in the left hand column for the words, "completed listings" (you need to be signed onto Ebay to do this). Put a check mark in that box. Go back up to the search bar where you have your search term entered, ie. polo girls shirts and click on search. When you get the search returns, you will see all of the items that have sold in green. You will see how much they sold for and a picture of what they look like. Write down that info for each search term you look up.
Armed with that information, and a credit card or cash, visit your discount store. Take a look at the brand names and compare what you see with what sold on Ebay. If you can make at least a $3-5 profit, then buy the item. Don't go crazy. Buy one or two items to start unless you see some unbelievable bargains.
Go home, take pictures, upload them to your computer and list them on Ebay. You can use Auctiva which is free for uploading even more pictures. Auctiva.com takes about a half hour to learn but it is well worth it because you can list as many pictures as you want for free whereas Ebay charges for each picture. Make sure when you are listing that you are pricing your items competitively.
More on how to list in the next blog. Next time: Why you must use good keywords in your title. That is very helpful to your success in selling your items and leaning what you can do to make money on Ebay.
One of my favorite stores is a discount store called Marshalls. You may or may not have one in your area but it is a store that sells brand name, designer clothing at a deep discount, especially at the change of seasons. If you know of a store that is like Marshalls, then this will work for you too.
Before you go, login to Ebay. One at a time, look up Polo shirts girls, then Polo shirts boys, Ralph Lauren boys, Ralph Lauren girls, Ralph Lauren baby, etc. (I always look for clothing with brand names like Ralph Lauren, Polo; Baby Phat; Tommy Hilfiger; etc.). Look in the left hand column for the words, "completed listings" (you need to be signed onto Ebay to do this). Put a check mark in that box. Go back up to the search bar where you have your search term entered, ie. polo girls shirts and click on search. When you get the search returns, you will see all of the items that have sold in green. You will see how much they sold for and a picture of what they look like. Write down that info for each search term you look up.
Armed with that information, and a credit card or cash, visit your discount store. Take a look at the brand names and compare what you see with what sold on Ebay. If you can make at least a $3-5 profit, then buy the item. Don't go crazy. Buy one or two items to start unless you see some unbelievable bargains.
Go home, take pictures, upload them to your computer and list them on Ebay. You can use Auctiva which is free for uploading even more pictures. Auctiva.com takes about a half hour to learn but it is well worth it because you can list as many pictures as you want for free whereas Ebay charges for each picture. Make sure when you are listing that you are pricing your items competitively.
More on how to list in the next blog. Next time: Why you must use good keywords in your title. That is very helpful to your success in selling your items and leaning what you can do to make money on Ebay.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Can You Really Make Money Selling On Ebay?
Read my article from hub pages on Can You Really Make Money Selling On Ebay?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Is Getting Started on Ebay Really That Easy?
Is Getting Started on Ebay Really That Easy? Yes, it is and now there is an Ebay product that will walk you step by step from beginning through building a profitable Ebay business. You can learn from the experts. Click here now to find out how to get started right away. This is the perfect resource for anyone who wants to get started, especially Ebay newbies.
Building an Ebay business will not happen overnight. On the other hand, you can join in minutes, create your seller account and your paypal account (click here to create Ebay account) and have your first item sold in three to ten days.
Sign up and try it on your own if you don't want to follow anyone's directions, just so you can see how easy it is. Then, when you try it on your own, don't waste any more time. Come back and click on the link above to read more about how to do it right the first time. Don't waste time guessing and losing sales like I did when I first started. Now that I learned from the experts, I am a powerseller. It was hard work, but now that I know what direction I am going to take and what market niche or two I want to specialize in, I target that niche and that niche only. I am focused, directed and now am making some decent money. My business is growing in an economy that is dying. Trust me. You are going to want to learn how to do this the right way to save yourself time and money loss.
Getting started on ebay is really easy. Are you ready and willing to take a half hour out of your day just to get set up and do a little bit of research? You will have to put the most time in on Ebay when you are deciding on your niche, taking pictures of your products, and listing them. My own two cents? Find one product first and keep the same product. Test it and if it works, stick with it. That way you won't have to take thousands of pictures of hundreds of products. You don't want to do that. It isn't any fun.
Building an Ebay business will not happen overnight. On the other hand, you can join in minutes, create your seller account and your paypal account (click here to create Ebay account) and have your first item sold in three to ten days.
Sign up and try it on your own if you don't want to follow anyone's directions, just so you can see how easy it is. Then, when you try it on your own, don't waste any more time. Come back and click on the link above to read more about how to do it right the first time. Don't waste time guessing and losing sales like I did when I first started. Now that I learned from the experts, I am a powerseller. It was hard work, but now that I know what direction I am going to take and what market niche or two I want to specialize in, I target that niche and that niche only. I am focused, directed and now am making some decent money. My business is growing in an economy that is dying. Trust me. You are going to want to learn how to do this the right way to save yourself time and money loss.
Getting started on ebay is really easy. Are you ready and willing to take a half hour out of your day just to get set up and do a little bit of research? You will have to put the most time in on Ebay when you are deciding on your niche, taking pictures of your products, and listing them. My own two cents? Find one product first and keep the same product. Test it and if it works, stick with it. That way you won't have to take thousands of pictures of hundreds of products. You don't want to do that. It isn't any fun.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Ebay Feedback System
Selling on Ebay used to be fun. Now it is more stressful due to the new Ebay feedback system.
The most unfair part of the system is that sellers can no longer leave negatives for buyers (not that many did that unless there were deadbeats who refused to pay for items that were already shipped.) I got my first negative feedback out of over 2,300 positive feedbacks from a buyer in the UK. The buyer's comment was that I hadn't responded to his emails and that it had been 14 days and they still didn't have their product.
First of all, I have all of the responses to his emails stored on Ebay. He only had 4 feedback so he probably didn't know to check his spam folder. He had my direct email address. He could have emailed me to say he didn't hear back from me through Ebay. Funny thing though, the same day he gave me the negative feedback, he sent me an email telling me that he got his item that day. All I could do was say in my comment that it was not true and international shipments take longer. Of course, I had already put a large paragraph on my auction saying that international buyers should expect shipments to take 14-30 days.
I thought I would appeal to him and asked him to remove my negative feedback since he did get his item. No go. He never responded.
The second really bad part of the Ebay feedback system is the fact that they made 4 separate criteria on which the seller needs to be judged. Duh. Everyone loves to pay handling charges, don't you? The biggest complaint among sellers is about the shipping and handling section. I personally ship my items within 24 to at the very very most, 48 hours. If the post office decides to take 10 days to deliver it or there is a massive snow storm, tornado, hurricane, or other Act of God, it's not our fault! The buyers don't seem to grasp this concept. That's where my 100% rating went from 100% down to 99.9%. No one likes to pay handling charges. My Ebay and Paypal fees are so high that I lose money on shipping every time. I don't pad the cost of my products, nor do I pad my handling fees (which average $2-3 depending on the cost of what Ebay is charging me), yet sellers are getting penalized because buyers don't understand what the ratings do to the sellers.
I still sell on Ebay and will continue to for awhile. I've recently listed things on Bonanzle and so far with three new sales, my fee has been a whopping 50 cents. There are some pretty cool things on the site so you may want to check it out.
I have more stories about the Ebay feedback system. Maybe I'll share another one in another blog. I don't think Ebay cares enough to change their policy back to protect the sellers as well. They are losing many sellers because of their high fees and their policy changes, but some of us are still hanging in there to see if Ebay will go back to the fun place it used to be.
By the way, if you are looking to start selling on Ebay, click here for an excellent resource to find products to sell and brainstorm for ideas.
The most unfair part of the system is that sellers can no longer leave negatives for buyers (not that many did that unless there were deadbeats who refused to pay for items that were already shipped.) I got my first negative feedback out of over 2,300 positive feedbacks from a buyer in the UK. The buyer's comment was that I hadn't responded to his emails and that it had been 14 days and they still didn't have their product.
First of all, I have all of the responses to his emails stored on Ebay. He only had 4 feedback so he probably didn't know to check his spam folder. He had my direct email address. He could have emailed me to say he didn't hear back from me through Ebay. Funny thing though, the same day he gave me the negative feedback, he sent me an email telling me that he got his item that day. All I could do was say in my comment that it was not true and international shipments take longer. Of course, I had already put a large paragraph on my auction saying that international buyers should expect shipments to take 14-30 days.
I thought I would appeal to him and asked him to remove my negative feedback since he did get his item. No go. He never responded.
The second really bad part of the Ebay feedback system is the fact that they made 4 separate criteria on which the seller needs to be judged. Duh. Everyone loves to pay handling charges, don't you? The biggest complaint among sellers is about the shipping and handling section. I personally ship my items within 24 to at the very very most, 48 hours. If the post office decides to take 10 days to deliver it or there is a massive snow storm, tornado, hurricane, or other Act of God, it's not our fault! The buyers don't seem to grasp this concept. That's where my 100% rating went from 100% down to 99.9%. No one likes to pay handling charges. My Ebay and Paypal fees are so high that I lose money on shipping every time. I don't pad the cost of my products, nor do I pad my handling fees (which average $2-3 depending on the cost of what Ebay is charging me), yet sellers are getting penalized because buyers don't understand what the ratings do to the sellers.
I still sell on Ebay and will continue to for awhile. I've recently listed things on Bonanzle and so far with three new sales, my fee has been a whopping 50 cents. There are some pretty cool things on the site so you may want to check it out.
I have more stories about the Ebay feedback system. Maybe I'll share another one in another blog. I don't think Ebay cares enough to change their policy back to protect the sellers as well. They are losing many sellers because of their high fees and their policy changes, but some of us are still hanging in there to see if Ebay will go back to the fun place it used to be.
By the way, if you are looking to start selling on Ebay, click here for an excellent resource to find products to sell and brainstorm for ideas.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Google Adsense Privacy Policy for Top Ebay Secrets
Google Adsense Privacy Policy for www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com
The privacy of our visitors to www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com is important to us.
At www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use visit www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log FilesAs with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.
Cookies and Web BeaconsWe do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.
We also use third party advertisements on www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.
AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by http://www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com
The privacy of our visitors to www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com is important to us.
At www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use visit www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log FilesAs with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.
Cookies and Web BeaconsWe do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.
We also use third party advertisements on www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.
AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by http://www.topebaysecrets.blogspot.com
The True Cost of Shipping Packages on Ebay and The Cost of Shipping Charges on Ebay
Many consumers are accustomed to shopping on line, but in spite of that, it is not unusual as a seller to get some complaints about the cost of shipping charges on Ebay. Only the seller really knows the true cost of shipping packages on Ebay because they are the ones putting the time and effort in to get the packages to the customers as quickly as possible.
Ebay Shipping charges are predetermined by the usps and UPS and any other carrier your customers may choose to have their package delivered from. As we all know, shipping charges are continuing to rise dramatically and just like the increase in the gas prices, the shipping increases have to be passed along to the customer. This, in turn, causes the Ebay seller to have to cut back on their handling fees to the extent where they are barely breaking even or even losing money on the Ebay shipping charges.
Many buyers don't understand all of the time and expenses that go into preparing a package on Ebay for shipping. For those Ebay sellers who print their own labels here is what transpires after a typical sale. The Ebay seller needs to find a box or envelope that will fit the item. If they don't sell the same items, they will need to take a few minutes to search for their packaging. Once they find the packaging, they have to pay for the packaging by going to a store or perhaps can find something laying around their house or office to ship their item in. This alone can be frustrating and time consuming, although many Ebay sellers, if they are selling the same product, have already done the leg work and have the packaging on hand.
For the Ebay seller who doesn't print their own shipping labels, the addresses need to be hand written. In both cases, if the package is international, a customs form needs to be filled out.
The next step in determining the shipping charges on Ebay is for the seller to package the sold item. This may mean that the package needs bubble wrap, packaging peanuts or tissue paper or some other type of packing material to keep the item secure. Once the item is in the box or packaging, it may need taped. Packaging tape is very expensive but is necessary to secure some of the packages. The item is taped and ready to be weighed if the Ebay seller prints their own postage. If not, the package is set aside for a trip to the post office later.
If the Ebay seller prints their own labels, then there is the cost of printer ink and paper and the cost of a scale to weigh the items. The Ebay seller weighs the item after it is packaged and then finds the order in their Paypal account or in their Ebay back office, clicks on the order, fills in the necessary information to print the label and then prints it. They wait until the label is printed and then apply it to the package.
The package still has to get to the post office so they either take it themselves (add the cost of gas and the time to get to the post office) or they call the post office and schedule a next day delivery. Once they get to the post office, they have to wait in long lines many times and then if the items are first class international (the postage cannot be printed online) or if they do not print their labels on line, they have to wait for the postmaster to weigh and put the postage on the package.
It may take, even for the most efficient ebay packager, up to 15 minutes or more for to get a package ready to go. For those of us who sell the same ebay products for the most part, it still takes a good 10 minutes for each package.
Then there are the Ebay and Paypal fees which are getting more and more expensive. The Ebay seller rarely is able to recoup those charges any more. I am a small powerseller and my ebay fees average $300-400 per month. My paypal fees are at least $200 per month. So even if I make a small profit on the items themselves, I may be losing money on the other fees, especially if the package is international. The international shipping rates are so high that many times, just to make a sale, you can't even add a handling fee.
If you are a consumer, I hope you understand some of the reasons the handling costs are included in your shipping charges. If you are an Ebay seller already then you can relate to this. If you are thinking of selling on Ebay, go for it, in spite of knowing the true cost of shipping packages on Ebay. It is still worth the time and effort for the most part.
Ebay Shipping charges are predetermined by the usps and UPS and any other carrier your customers may choose to have their package delivered from. As we all know, shipping charges are continuing to rise dramatically and just like the increase in the gas prices, the shipping increases have to be passed along to the customer. This, in turn, causes the Ebay seller to have to cut back on their handling fees to the extent where they are barely breaking even or even losing money on the Ebay shipping charges.
Many buyers don't understand all of the time and expenses that go into preparing a package on Ebay for shipping. For those Ebay sellers who print their own labels here is what transpires after a typical sale. The Ebay seller needs to find a box or envelope that will fit the item. If they don't sell the same items, they will need to take a few minutes to search for their packaging. Once they find the packaging, they have to pay for the packaging by going to a store or perhaps can find something laying around their house or office to ship their item in. This alone can be frustrating and time consuming, although many Ebay sellers, if they are selling the same product, have already done the leg work and have the packaging on hand.
For the Ebay seller who doesn't print their own shipping labels, the addresses need to be hand written. In both cases, if the package is international, a customs form needs to be filled out.
The next step in determining the shipping charges on Ebay is for the seller to package the sold item. This may mean that the package needs bubble wrap, packaging peanuts or tissue paper or some other type of packing material to keep the item secure. Once the item is in the box or packaging, it may need taped. Packaging tape is very expensive but is necessary to secure some of the packages. The item is taped and ready to be weighed if the Ebay seller prints their own postage. If not, the package is set aside for a trip to the post office later.
If the Ebay seller prints their own labels, then there is the cost of printer ink and paper and the cost of a scale to weigh the items. The Ebay seller weighs the item after it is packaged and then finds the order in their Paypal account or in their Ebay back office, clicks on the order, fills in the necessary information to print the label and then prints it. They wait until the label is printed and then apply it to the package.
The package still has to get to the post office so they either take it themselves (add the cost of gas and the time to get to the post office) or they call the post office and schedule a next day delivery. Once they get to the post office, they have to wait in long lines many times and then if the items are first class international (the postage cannot be printed online) or if they do not print their labels on line, they have to wait for the postmaster to weigh and put the postage on the package.
It may take, even for the most efficient ebay packager, up to 15 minutes or more for to get a package ready to go. For those of us who sell the same ebay products for the most part, it still takes a good 10 minutes for each package.
Then there are the Ebay and Paypal fees which are getting more and more expensive. The Ebay seller rarely is able to recoup those charges any more. I am a small powerseller and my ebay fees average $300-400 per month. My paypal fees are at least $200 per month. So even if I make a small profit on the items themselves, I may be losing money on the other fees, especially if the package is international. The international shipping rates are so high that many times, just to make a sale, you can't even add a handling fee.
If you are a consumer, I hope you understand some of the reasons the handling costs are included in your shipping charges. If you are an Ebay seller already then you can relate to this. If you are thinking of selling on Ebay, go for it, in spite of knowing the true cost of shipping packages on Ebay. It is still worth the time and effort for the most part.
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