EBay Seller Secrets!
When I hear the words eBay seller secrets, or phrases such secrets of eBay powersellers, I have to wonder which seller’s secrets. Surely these secrets can’t be the same from person to person. You might think that there is some undergound black book of codified eBay secrets that sellers are given once they reach a certain “level.” All very hush hush, don’t you know.
Well, there are eBay seller secrets, but let’s get rid of the word, secrets. The word secrets is there to make you salivate. Let’s call it know-how, or trade craft. What you need to know to sell on eBay. I can’t cover everything, but I do have some advice from an experienced seller. I’d like to paraphrase these remarks from the Salehoo forum. That’s right, eBay seller secrets from the Salehoo forum.
Keep in mind that many items you find on eBay are selling for prices below wholesale for several reasons.
First, most wholesalers are also selling their products on eBay and, of course, they can sell their own inventory for less expensively than you.
Second, many businesses claiming to be wholesalers selling goods at wholesale prices are, in fact, middlemen who buy their stock from a true wholesaler and then sell it to you at an inflated price. The middleman price is never the true wholesale price.
Third, already established, succesful eBay sellers buy in very large bulk quantities and are getting really low per item bulk prices. They can then sell at really low prices. Their profit comes from selling huge numbers at very small mark up.
So, what can you do? Well, you can buy in bulk and sell at a lower price to beat your competition. You can buy liquidation and closeout stock. Again, you have to buy in bulk, but your per item cost is really low, which allows you to mark up and make a profit.
Also, consider selling stuff that isn’t sold by everyone else. Give some thought to common household items, things that people use everyday. Things that can be found through local sources such thrift stores and dollar stores.
EBay can be a great place to sell “cottage industry” types of items because not everyone has them. However, trying to sell mass appeal items such as consumer electronics can be very, very difficult because the competition is so tight.
Think outside the box. Consider this–not everyone lives close to a shopping center or works standard business hours. Such people often shop online and should be considered potential customers. One true life exampe is of a young girl who makes several thousand dollars a month selling coffee mug and kitchen decorations she gets at a local dollar store and then marks up. Another true life example concerns selling a brand name cosmetic available only through certain boutiques. Here, the cosmetics were purchased retail at the boutiques and marked up for sale on eBay. People who did not have access to the certain boutiques bought the cosmetics through eBay.
One other thing that I’ll add that is often overlooked is that powersellers generally sell in multiple categories. If you do a survey of powerseller listings, you’ll find that they generally sell across many different product categories.
All right then. There you have it. These are real “secrets” of eBay sellers. It isn’t magic, it is know-how. Part of the skill set it takes to be successful. And it has nothing to do with wholesale dropship directories.
Don’t get me wrong. Wholesale dropship product directories, such as Salehoo are a valuable asset. After all, you do need product sources. Ultimately, however, your own success lies in your own critical reasoning and willingness to take action. Action is free–take it!
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