Ebay Power Seller Profits

Just started reading Gary V’s book Crush It and am loving every page!! This is one book for the entrepreneur or would-be entrepreneur that you don’t want to miss. This book will also help you see the possibilities of marketing your Ebay business with a new set of eyes!!! I give it a 5 Star!!

Happy New Year Everybody!
With the New Year, comes a new change in shipping rates for all UPS and US Postal Service Sellers using Priority Mail.

These rates went into effect 1/4/10.

For the new USPS carrier rate changes go to

http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm

For UPS carrier rate changes go to

http://www.ups.com/rates/

Most of my shipping is done thru USPS Priority Mail and the rate is now based on weight and zone of delivery desination. No longer will a 1lb Priority Box go to California for $4.80.

Please make sure to update all your listing to cover the increase in postage.

Some of the best eBay stores are the stores that have already made a name for themselves in the online shopping world. In doing so, they have managed to become the go to place for a particular product. In other words, their store has a specific identity that people have come to know and recognize them for. Most shop owners want some kind of identity for their store, and trust that you will want one too.

You want to be a store that is recognizable and trustworthy so that people keep coming back to you. In order to do that, think about what the market needs in an eBay store and try to provide them with that specific need. Usually fulfilling a need will set you above all the rest and give your store an identity. While brainstorming, think about these three ideas for an eBay store identity:

Hopeless Husbands Store
Many wives, fiancées, and girlfriends will tell you that men are hopeless when it comes to getting presents. They don’t know what to get for which occasion, or they just don’t know what to get in general. In order to help these lost boys out, why not put up a store that caters to men who do not know what to get their ladies or who have run out of ideas? Imagine an eBay store where men can go, get great ideas, have all the choices they need, make payments and shipment one click away. It’s a puzzled guy’s dream come true, and your store can be swarmed with customers trying to meet anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and all sorts of other occasions soon!

Family Gift Basket Store
Many times people are unsure about how to gift an entire family. Not to mention that it can be a pain to pick out one gift for each member individually. Your eBay store can now cater to the person who needs to give gifts in bulk. The family gift basket store can be a place where there are prearranged gift baskets for families of varying sizes. Each gift basket can have several toys in them plus some nice wine and cheese for the parents, or a trendy gadget that everyone can use. You can also give your customers the option of choosing gifts from the list your store provides and customize their own gift basket. Offer shipping directly to the recipient so that your customer doesn’t have to worry about sending it over themselves. It is something that your customers will appreciate, and come holiday season you store will be a sure hit!

Electronic Alternatives Store
Many of the fancy electronics out on the market today come with accessories or add-ons that are sold separately. As a result, most people end up spending more money than they intended on an accessory they may not really use. One great idea is to put up an electronic alternatives store. This is a store that sells third party manufactured accessories that will work for the real gadgets, and are all legitimately made, bought, and dealt of course. Kind of like selling Skull Candy headphones to iPod users. The headphones will work for the iPod, but they aren’t Apple issued. You’ll be surprised how many gadget freaks are looking for third party manufactured products because they usually come out to be much cheaper and just as reliable.

These eBay store ideas have not been taken yet or have not yet been saturated in the market. If you’re looking for a good idea for your eBay store, try any of these out! You may reach great success!

There is money to be made in liquidation products, but you have to know exactly how to find those. So here is the list of tips and strategies.

Know Whom You Are Buying From

You can find plenty of liquidation sources online, but there is only a percentage of those who are really reliable. Now, you can go to the liquidation dot com and see what they have. And most likely from time to time, you can find a good deal, but my advice is to stay away from returns as often there are issues with those products. You can even find smaller local store and see if they have any liquidation to unload. This is a great way to get that product at 10-20% of wholesale.

But if you are going to search for sources online, you have to find if they are really legitimate. The legit company should have the necessary contact information. If you cannot get a hold of them by phone, RED FLAG, move onto the next one.

If you do get a hold of them, great, get to know them a little better and test their customer service. You can always ask for customer references. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it is.

Know what you are Buying!

Before you actually make the purchase you have to know exactly what you are getting. It happened to me few times that I got the wrong order. It was delayed, and a whole mess.  Know the details on how much it cost for shipping, and what is the price per item. Get the details in writing, so you have something to fall back on!

Your supplier should provide you with a manifest – an itemized list of the goods on the pallet you’ll be receiving. Try to get the liquidation price, the wholesale price, and the retail.

Know the Real Product Cost Before you buy!

This is kind of a warning. You have to consider not only the purchase cost, but if the items you are getting have to be repaired, you have to count that in. Or cleaned, re packaged. Count those in as well!

Test the Product Market

First find out what is the lowest selling price, the shipping cost, the specifications and look at the auction sites to see if the product is selling. This will help you determine the profit you can expect.

Don’t overlook the slow moving products!

Some of the low cost slow moving products can really help increase your profit margin. For example, if you are selling kids puzzles, you can over sell for additional 10-20% of the initial price if you include the bonus. Keep that in mind!

Just in the case you did not know, the Wordwide Brands Directory has plenty of liquidators who are screened and approved by their company, so you know you are working with the real company.

If you have done some research into the best ways to source products for a retail business, you will know that finding closeouts is one of the best ways that you can buy good quality products for a very low price.

Lots of people are also interested in buying closeouts direct without the middleman, which also means buying direct from a wholesale liquidator rather than a discount retailer. Many businesses will pretend to be closeout suppliers when in fact they are middlemen who are charging you a markup on the closeout price. Always be wary that you are buying directly from the wholesale closeout supplier, as that means you are getting the maximum discount available for a product.

You can make a lot of money from closeout merchandise and so we’ve put together some tips for you about finding closeouts and the sorts of things that you can do once you have your closeout items.

Your best bet for finding closeouts is to look for a wholesale supplier who has been in business for a number of years. This means that they are a reliable company, and you won’t have to worry about wasting your money. Wholesale suppliers are also the only genuine dealers of closeout merchandise.

Because you are buying closeouts direct without the middleman, the prices you are getting are unbelievably cheap. In fact, they can even be as low as ten percent of the retail price of the product. Once of the great things about this is that you can pass on part of this saving to your customer. If you are selling your items at 50% off the retail price, your customers will be delighted at the bargain that they are getting. What’s more, you’re still making a good profit on each sale because you purchased at such a low wholesale price to begin with.

Offering freebies is another great way to shift items you bought from finding closeouts. If you know that a customer could use two of the same item and would be more likely to buy if they think they’re getting a better bargain – offer them a buy one get one free. This works amazingly well with household items such as clocks, lamps or soap dishes, and you’re still making a profit on your wholesale purchase price.

Offer prizes. Conduct a raffle for customers who spend a certain amount of money during a set period of time. Make it something irresistible, like a flat screen TV, or a laptop, anything that you have bought at closeout price so it won’t cost you much money, but will entice your customers to spend.

A good wholesale supplier will always have a varied range of closeouts available for you to purchase, you may find that you are selling a range of vastly different items, but your prices are what will make your customers come to you and purchase, as they won’t be able to find such great deals anywhere else.

Remember that finding closeouts is just the first step in your journey. You then need to market your goods effectively so that your customers will buy.

Author Bio:

Robin Mento

http://www.RhinoMart.com: Wholesale, Wholesale Sources for Closeouts and Liquidations. RhinoMart is your leader for Wholesale Merchandise. We carry over 100,000 profit making wholesale items!

Find a earn money business opportunity online. You can start a business from the comfort of your own home with no start up fees and no overhead costs. There are many earn money business opportunities available online, there is one for you.

Many people turn to eBay to earn extra money or to make quick money. But eBay is a make money business opportunity you may not be aware of. You have heard people brag about the amount of cash they received for something old they had in the attic or just laying around the house on eBay, but have you heard about the people who are making a living on eBay?

You might think that you do not have enough to sell online and that buying in bulk may be a riskier earn money business than you care for. Well, good news, you can start selling on eBay to make money online and you do not need to buy anything in bulk. You do not need to buy anything at all for that matter.

You can find dropship companies all over the internet that will allow you to sell their products that they keep in stock and will even ship them for you. This means you do not have to buy the product until after it sells and then just put the address in and they will ship it for you using your company information.

eBay is truly an amazing make money business opportunity that anyone could make money using. It is simple and fun and no experience is required. You can list your auctions and watch them earn extra income for you each day. There is no reason a person could not earn enough money to make a living with this great make money business opportunity at their fingertips.

Article was written by Jeffrey Frasco. For more information about making extra money online and how to earn extra money online look at the makemoneyonlineforyou.com website.

Now everyone wants to find a way to make a little extra from home, and the easiest way to do so is by drop shipping as it does not require a lot of up front money!

First recap on the drop shipping. You DO NOT have to purchase the large quantity of inventory, so you don’t have to have investment capital! No need for storage space, and you don’t have a headache of shipping and handling! The real wholesale supplier will send a product for you, from their warehouse, directly to your customer. SO really great, and before you even submit your order to the drop shipper, you will collect the money from your customer. Great isn’t it?

Now, this business module is really great and attracts a lot of people to selling online, but it also attracts a low of fake wholesale suppliers.

Here is what you should watch out for and how to spot them:

• First warning is if they offer all of the products at one place, with nice pictures and product information just ready for you to sell!
• They will drop ship all the products for you from that one location
• The idea is going to be so attractive, because with one drop ship company you get it all
• They will charge you a monthly or yearly processing fee (no refund)
• You will build sites, you wait for profits to start pouring in, and in the end, you will earn nothing, and you just wasted a bunch of your time!

If you do get few orders in, you should count your self lucky.

But the worst is, you will lose a lot of time and money looking for an easy profits. Along the way you had to buy domain, or couple of them, you had to buy hosting, and you had to pay for their membership. Ouch! This is at least $500 right there.

The reality is, if this happens to you, you just got scammed by one of the most popular scams online.
But if you really want to make profits, you have to find the true wholesale suppliers! That is the only way.

The problem for many people is finding the real wholesale suppliers. WHY? Because they don’t advertise online! Yet again, WHY? Because if they did, they would get thousands of calls from every scammer and every possible person who want s to sell online.

The suppliers are not crazy. They do know that online sales are increasing every year. They also know that they have to connect with those online retailers, but they are being careful about it. They want the legit businesses to contact them. And you can only get in touch with them if you do have a legit business.

That is the only way you will be in direct contact with the actual Wholesale Supplier or factory source. The real wholesale suppliers and manufacturers are going to advertise their business through wholesale directories such as the Worldwide Brands Directory

p.s. Make sure you do learn how to find profitable products to sell, and it does not cost you anything, get it right here for Free.

Do you want to be a successful seller on eBay? Of course – who doesn’t? Follow this 10-step path and you’ll have all the necessary bases covered to run a long-term, profitable eBay business.

Step 1: You must identify and target a market. Take your time to do diligent research on what’s selling and what isn’t, from the items you’re interested in. Any data you collect will be invaluable in the long-term. You’ll notice those in-demand and profitable items quite quickly.

Step 2: Keep an eye on the competition. Before you start investing real money, take a look at what others are selling in your category and for how much. Keep a keen eye on their strategies. This is an awesome time to “learn from other’s mistakes”. Look for the flaws in their auctions and stores. Don’t make the same mistake and you can move in immediately and see a response.

Step 3: Time to find a product! Get a hold of a reliable supplier for whatever the item is you want to sell on eBay. See what the best rates and terms you can get are. Once you’ve located a supplier who’s prices are lower than the prices you encounter on eBay, you’re good to go.

Step 4: It’s ok to start small. Don’t invest thousands of dollars into your eBay business right out of the gate. Take a closer look at what works and what does not. Even for the most far-fetched ideas, eBay is a great place to try things out, and affordable.

Step 5: Test, repeat, test, repeat. Keep on trying new strategies. Tweak the ones you’ve seen a bit of success with. Enhance them. Chances are, you’ve found yourself a profitable niche.

Step 6: Make sure you have a business plan. Your eBay business plan does not need to be formal. It could be a few pages outlining the specific eBay niche area you want to target and your strategies, the strengths and weaknesses of your plan, and a rough estimate of your budget.

Step 7: Reinvest and expand. Now is the time to invest further in your systems. Start setting weekly sales goals and increasing them each time. Really start investing your time in your eBay business. It is at this point that those who quit will do so, and those that eventually succeed persevere on.

Step 8: Make your eBay business a real business. Register yourself as a real business. This is neither expensive, nor difficult to do. There are numerous resources available to those that want to register a business in their respective state. Start online first.

Step 9: Automate your business. You might find yourself rewriting a lot of the same things in emails and item descriptions. It’s time to get rid of your manual method and purchase automated software that can handle numerous chores for you, including post-purchase messages, creating lists, and auction responses.

Step 10: Don’t give up. Every eBay success story started with grunt work, organization, diligent research, patience, and perseverance. What will make your journey any different? You’ll be shocked when your first breakthrough occurs while things appear the most desperate.

Once you get into the swing of things, you might think it is time to quit your day-job and sell on eBay full-time. Honestly, it is a whole lot easier than you have been led to believe by the “Powersellers and gurus”. Don’t put off profits any longer. Get more than just your foot in the door and accelerate your eBay success starting right now, right here!

You may think that the ideal product for you to sell on eBay would be something that is in huge demand but no one else is selling on eBay. But you don’t need such a product to make a living on eBay.

You needn’t be afraid of competition. Competition is good. It means there is a market for your product. If no one else is selling it, you may have found a winner. But the reason why no one else is selling it may be because there is no demand for it!

Think about this: how many shoe shops are there in your local high street or shopping center? How many clothes shops? How many banks? How many solicitors? In fact banks are often next door to each other, as are solicitors’ offices! They are in competition with each other because there is a market for their products and services.

The fact is – it doesn’t matter if other people are already selling what you want to sell. If it’s a big market, you don’t need to “corner the market”. If it’s a big pie, you don’t need the whole pie – you only need a slice. And if you sell better than your competition you will get the biggest slice of the pie. Note that I said “sell better”… I didn’t say “sell cheaper”!

What do I mean by sell better? Well, you can use a better title, better photos, better sales copy, better terms, etc. All of these things will make your listing stand out from the competition and make your offer more attractive. But perhaps the best way to beat your competition is to ADD VALUE. Provide your customers with better value for money than your competitors provide.

To increase the perceived value of what you are offering so your customers get better value by buying from you, add FREE BONUSES. If two people are selling exactly the same item on eBay at the same price but one is offering a free bonus, who would you buy from?

For maximum impact, the bonus must be linked to your product, or at least be relevant to your niche, so that it will be of interest to your customers. There’s no point offering a free bonus that is not of interest to your customers as this won’t be an incentive for them to buy from you.

The free bonus should have a high perceived value for the customer but cost you little or nothing to provide so that it doesn’t reduce your profit.

Information products make ideal free bonuses. A guide on how to use the product that you are selling would be a good free bonus. Or you could just compile a list of useful websites related to your niche. Adding a brief summary about each website would increase its perceived value.

You can create the information product yourself, pay someone to create it for you or you might even find an existing one that you can reproduce. If you do a Google Search on “your niche + ebook + resell rights” you may be able to find a low cost, ready-made information product that you can give away free with your item. (You would have to read the resell licence terms to make sure that you can give it away for free.)

An information product can be stored on your computer and be cheaply and easily reproduced by printing it on to paper or burning it on a CD. So giving it away won’t cost you much. But if the information it contains is useful it will add a lot of value to the product you are selling on eBay.

You can then add “+ FREE Bonus” to your listing title, or as a sub-title, so people are more likely to click on your listing rather than your competitors’.

Adding free bonuses such as information products that cost you little or nothing to reproduce but which add value to your product is probably the easiest and cheapest way for you to beat your competition.

About the Author

Martyn Boaden is the Author of “The Lazy Way To Wealth On eBay” and Founder of The Online Auction Resource Centre. You will find all the resources that you will ever need to set up and run your SUCCESSFUL and PROFITABLE eBay business, including his very popular FREE 53 Part Course, at =>
http://www.TheOnlineAuctionResourceCentre.com

Finding what sells on eBay is a lot easier than you think. Did you know that eBay releases “hot list” each month, helping people decide what is the best eBay products to sell!

BUT there is the down side, everyone has an access to this data, and in the long run it can hurt you. So you kind of have to judge the list, and see if there is a close to the list product you can resell to them.

eBay Helps You Out!

eBay has a hot items list, and consistently (every month) they update the list with their research data. This helps you because they do most of the market research for you. They also have the eBay pulse and that helps you see the niche market you would never thought of!

You should always consider the trends. Halloween coming, find out which costumes are popular. If it is Christmas coming, see which toys are popular. Summer is coming, any inflatable items that are popular!

You don’t have to sell only on eBay, you can resell on Craigslist as well.

It is more handling for you, but sometimes bigger profits. People don’t really see the Craigslist as the big market, BUT the thing is, it is HUGE! Last year, I was moving, and I had few things that just did not fit with my place. For each one of those, I’ve got 15-20 calls, I wished I had more of the items to sell

Local Outlet store!

This is an overlooked market, but you can easily get 1000-2000 K per month profit if you source your outlet stores for overstock inventory. First of, these are often brand name products, and they sell like crazy on auction sites. If the price is right at the time of purchase, you can turn around and sell it back for 50% profit margin. So don’t over look this!

Test the Market!

Sometimes all the data shows you are probably on the right target, BUT just to test the market, only sell 2 of those items. You see they are moving, GREAT, but if they don’t you just saved yourself a bunch of money!

Follow your buyers!

Currently at the time I am writing this, many people are into organic products. Organic clothing, organic food, natural remedies etc. You can do so much more with it! The thing is, you can even check out some popular forums and see what people are buying. After finding the eBay products to sell, all you have to do is find a wholesale suppliers, and you can use the worldwide brands directory for that!

You don’t have to stab in dark, take a look at a free tutorial that will show you exactly what is selling on eBay and at what price, at very low competition!