The second general category of products you can sell on ebay are new products that you obtain from a third party. Selling this kind of product is the route I see the majority of new eBay sellers take because it appears to be the easiest way to get started on eBay.
While there’s no question that some people are quite successful on eBay selling this type of product, the vast majority of beginners who take this approach will fail for two simple reasons that most people don’t want to talk about.
Most people are lazy. Most people want immediate gratification.
So once they decide they want to start an eBay business they immediately gravitate toward the “hot items” finders, drop shipping lists, and wholesale lists being heavily marketed to beginning eBay sellers. They get sucked in by all the easy money, no need to store inventory, no need to do any real research, etc. hype. It’s what they want to hear so they fall for it.
These kinds of lists are not the way to become successful on eBay or anywhere else. If you don’t believe this, answer these two questions:
1. If I were to give you a list of 50 “hot items” that you could sell on eBay in large numbers and earn a large profit from each one, would you share it with anyone else?
2. If I were to give you a list of 50 true wholesale sources where you could buy products at prices that would allow you to make a large profit on each item you listed, would you share that list with anyone else?
Can you make money selling this kind of product on eBay?
Sure you can, but you’re going to have to do your own product research and come up with products that aren’t available to everyone who wants to spend a few dollars to buy a list of some type.
You need to start by getting a map of your state and drawing a circle with a 100 mile radius around where you live. That’s the area you need to look products sources in. For the majority of people, within that circle are numerous small manufacturing businesses or jobbers that offer products that eBay isn’t already flooded with. You just need to find them.
A few years ago, Jim Kaiser wrote an excellent ebook covering how to find these businesses, how to approach them, and how to deal with them titled The Powerseller’s Bible. Although the book is a few years old, the information it contains is just as pertinent today as it was then.
Bill Myers provided a link today in his discussion forum to an article about a couple who make more than $10,000 a month selling this type of product on eBay and in their eBay store.
Notice that they do their own research and they get their products from local companies. None of the products they sell will ever show up on anyone’s “hot item” list.
You will also notice that when searching for products to sell they first find a product. Then they go to eBay to see if it can be sold there profitably. This goes against the “first find a hot item on eBay and then look for a source” route most people recommend you take. They use the same approach as talked about in Finding A Profitable Collectible/Antique eBay Niche.
If you are going to sell this kind of product on eBay the approach this couple takes is the best chance you have of building a successful eBay business.
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