Product Sourcing For Ebay: What Are 3 Other Things You Need To Know?
Many people use Ebay as a way to run a garage sale, getting rid of old and unwanted belongings while making a few bucks at the same time. But do you know that you can make a full time income off Ebay by selling wholesale products continuously? Some people already do this - they set up wholesaler agreements with dropship companies who handle inventory and process the shipment of goods to the buyer. Here are three more things you need to know about product sourcing for Ebay before you jump in with both feet.
1. Find Out What's Hot on Ebay
First, you need to determine what are the best items to sell on Ebay. It's best to sell products with a high turnover. For example, if both Product A and Product B give you a $100 margin, but Product A sells 100 copies everyday while Product B only sells 50 copies, you obviously want to offer Product A. This is obvious, of course. But do you know how to find this information? How do you know what's hot on Ebay?
Simple! Ebay has a report called Ebay Pulse. This page lists the most popular items on Ebay and is updated very regularly. But what if you don't want to sell these items?
Then try Shopping.com's Top Searches report for more hot product ideas.
2. Find a Wholesale Dropship Supply Partner to Provide the Products
Next you need to find wholesalers for Ebay sellers who can provide these hot products and handle the orders and delivery.
How do you find these companies? Just search for directories of wholesale dropship supply companies. There are both free and paid directories at various prices. These wholesaler directories list all companies which are willing to provide goods for resale by third parties like yourself. You'll need to make sure that these listed companies also handle order processing and shipping.
Of course, the paid directories offer more useful and up-to-date information. Some may also offer ratings by people who use these companies. Membership costs can range from $50 up to $200, depending on the level of service and how much information they actually offer. Often, you only need to pay the fees once, when you join up. Be careful to verify this, as some require monthly or annual membership fees.
Reputable directories almost always have a cooling off or refund period. If you find that the directory you joined is not suitable for you, you can often quit and ask for a refund within 30 days or 60 days. Just try a different directory one by one until you find one which meets your needs.
3. Diversify
When you first start out, it is normal to stick to selling one product on Ebay. This greatly simplifies and speeds up your learning process.
But if you want to get a stable income from product sourcing for Ebay, you need to sell more than one type of goods at the same time. After all, you never really know whether a particular item will sell. Just because Ebay Pulse says Nintendo Wii sold very well for the last 3 months, does not guarantee that YOU can sell Nintendo Wii this week.
Rather than depend on just one item, try selling items for a few unrelated product categories at the same time. For example, sell Britney Spears' latest hit from a music CDs dropshipper at the same time you sell cat litter from a pet accessories dropshipper. It is even better if you can manage a third and fourth product at the same time.
The biggest question is not whether or not you can succeed. What you need to ask yourself is: "Am I willing to put in the time needed to learn how to sell effectively on Ebay?" In many cases, the product outsourcing for Ebay company you work with will provide very attention grabbing ads. But you still need to set up the auctions and Ebay stores yourself. You may also want to make your own ads if you think there are too many other people using the same ads. You will also have to learn different techniques to get people to look at your auctions and visit your Ebay stores.
