Success on eBay - Learn 3 Tips from a PowerSeller
Monday, December 29th, 2008PROPER RESEARCH IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST
Do not skimp on research. Time spent in research will save headaches and lost sales in the future. Knowing the average selling price of the items you would like to sell is key. Do this by selecting Advanced Search button from the main search page, it is located just to the right of the Search Button. After opening the Advanced Search link, type in your keyword(s) of the product you want information regarding.
Select a category, check the Completed Listings button, then Search. Now what you have on your screen are items that have recently closed on eBay. The products which have Sold will be highlighted Green. The products that did not sell, you will see highlighted in Red or Black. The Red items are unsold Auctions, the Black items are Unsold Buy it Now items. Take this data and place in an excel worksheet that you might review in future.
DO NOT LOSE A SALE OVER SHIPPING FEES
Shipping is definitely a very sensitive subject with regards to eBay purchases. In years past, many sellers would give a good price on the product, then gouge on the shipping fees. Free Shipping many times will get your product noticed and respected. And the buyer will come back for more products later on.
Compare Shipping Fees when doing research, notice the Free Shipping items, or Reasonable Shipping priced items will do better overall than Unreasonable fees. Know what your shipping costs will be to ship the product then allow for it in the selling price. Just consider it the cost of doing business.
BASIC ECONOMICS: SUPPLY AND DEMAND
No matter how good a deal you may be receiving on a product, if the eBay community is not interested in it (Demand) sale of the product is not likely. If you have a chance to purchase 100 Widgets for $5.00 each, and the last 50 posts if these widgets only produced 5 sales for $4.75, you will probably be losing money on these Widgets. Or friends and family will be getting Widgets next Christmas.
Many successful eBay PowerSeller recommend when starting out, is to have a Wholesaler Dropship products for you. Dropshipping is when you post a product, sell it, collect the money, then a Wholesaler ships the product for you. You do not have to stock any product and are not in danger of having obsolete inventory. When using a Wholesale Dropshipper make certain they are legitimate. I say this because many retailers, pose as wholesalers, giving a small discount from retail. You are only dealing with a middleman, not a true wholesaler, which is costing you profit. Google Wholesale Sources, or Dropship Wholesale, compare pricing and make certain you are truly dealing with a wholesaler.
