Product Sourcing for Ebay: Secrets of Successful Ebay Sellers

So, how do you make your fortune on Ebay? Like any other business, you buy low and sell high. Now, if you have heard of Warren Buffet's "value investing" technique, then you will know that you want a margin of safety when you buy goods. This way, you can miss the peak and still make a profit. This principle, too, is the secret of successful Ebay sellers. They have good, cheap, product sourcing for Ebay, which allows them to make a profit very often.

Readding: How To Be Successful With Product Sourcing For Ebay ?

Most successful sellers use one of these four techniques for product sourcing for Ebay:

Set up a workshop in a cheaper location (Mexico, South East Asia and Eastern Europe come to mind) to make their own products, for example low cost jewelry, knitting or furniture.

Buy and re-sell excess inventories of brick and mortar stores that are downsizing. Keep your eyes peeled when you drive around town and you will probably see some warehouse sales. Buy and re-sell inventories of brick and mortar stores that are being liquidated (going out of business). Read your local newspaper and check the section which announces auctions and businesses being liquidated.

Work together with specialized wholesalers for Ebay sellers

Each of the methods above have their advantages and disadvantages. However, the 4th method, wholesalers for Ebay sellers, is probably the lowest risk for people who are new to Ebay selling as a business. So, what are the advantages?

No inventory. For example, look at Amazon - they do not have any warehouse space, or even brick and mortar storefronts. Their storefront only exists on the Internet.

You get a wide range of products to sell.

Life is simpler. You do not need to manufacture the product or ship it. You only need to sell the products, pay for the item and tell your wholesale partner the shipping address.

If your auction is a dud, you do not need to pay for any products - your wholesale dropship supply partner holds the inventory, not you.

Very low cost business - mainly Ebay fees and dropshipping fees.

How does everything work together?

Assuming you are working with savvy wholesalers who specialize in product sourcing for eBay, you can ask them what's hot on Ebay now, and what will be hot next season. They have many years worth of data, and are quite willing to share some of their data mining efforts to help you make a bigger profit. Note that the more you sell, the more they earn.

They will also tell you how much the postage and handling fees are, so that you can factor this into your auction.

You set up your auctions or stores.

Once the product is sold, you pay your wholesaler partner their share of the profits and let them know the shipping address. They will send the product to the buyer.

Rinse and repeat.

Remember the following points when you look for a product sourcing for Ebay partner:

They must provide good quality products. Your good reputation is paramount. Sell crappy products and your customers will complain to Ebay. Your reputation will sink like a rock. And a poor reputation will seriously hurt your business.

They must ship the products quickly and efficiently.

This is the secret of successful Ebay sellers - effective product sourcing for Ebay gives them a reliable and low cost supply of goods to sell.

How To Be Successful With Product Sourcing For Ebay ?

Have you ever bought or sold something on Ebay? What do you think about those people who set up their own home business and sell items on Ebay regularly? Have you ever wondered if you could do this yourself, and how to do it? Did you know that many of these home businesses partner with specialist companies who provide them with their products? This business process is called product sourcing for Ebay, and it works well for many people.

Read more: Where in the World Do You Find Products for eBay ?

Does product sourcing for Ebay ensure automatic success? Of course not! Firstly, all business involves risk. There are always setbacks. Regardless of what you sell, regardless of how good those products are, they will not always sell at the same rate every day or week. Some products sell well on some days, but poorly on others. On the other extreme, there are products which sell very well for weeks, then fail to sell for months, before selling well again. Can you live with this kind of uncertainty? Or will you be scared off ?

How good are you at spotting trends? You do not need to hit every trend spot on. As long as you do not miss every trend badly, you will still make a profit. If you correctly forecast what's hot on Ebay for just one out of five projects, you will make a very hansome profit. Spotting trends is a skill which can be learned. With persistence, you will find that your ratio of hits gradually improves. This is what successful Ebay sellers do: they identify the best items to sell on Ebay fast enough to set up a highly profitable wholesale dropship supply situation when the next big wave hits the auction block.

Successful Ebay sellers diversify their portfolio of products. They sell at least two or three different ranges of unrelated products at the same time. With this product sourcing for Ebay strategy, they get more consistent monthly sales. With the right combination of products and dropshipper, e.g. with a music CDs dropshipper and a pet accessories dropshipper, when the music CDs sell poorly, the pet accessories will be selling well. Every month, you will have income. The downside? You need to have better recordkeeping to keep track of what is going on.

Bear in mind that there are many wholesalers for Ebay sellers in the marketplace. Each company is different in what they offer you, with different expectations from you, different levels of support, and different commission structures. Be patient and evaluate a few different companies. Choose only those wholesalers or dropshippers which are suitable for your current level of skill. If you are new to Ebay selling, choose a company which offers more support, even though they pay less commission. Once you have more experience, you can work with a different company which pays more compensation but offers less support.

This is how you can be successful going with product sourcing for Ebay. There are almost no barriers to entry - anyone can do it, but to be successful you need the right personal qualities, the right strategies and the right partners in place. Starts slow, with baby steps, as you discover what works best for you.

Where in the World Do You Find Products for eBay ?

The question I get most about eBay is "Where do I find products to sell on eBay?". Actually, there is an endless number of products you be selling on eBay. Just take some time and you will have loads of possible product to list on eBay.

Read more: Great Online Shopping Stores-eBay

So, where do you start?

First, start selling items around your house. Take a day and clean the attic, garage or your kids' bedrooms. I promise you will find lots of great items to sell on eBay. One of the advantages of selling stuff from your home is there isn't any investment in it. You already own these items and don't want them any more. So, it gets rid of stuff in your house and it gives you seed money for future inventory in your eBay business. If an item doesn't sell, you haven't lost any money buying in bulk for eBay. Once you are selling on eBay for an extended period of time, you should start looking for another source of product besides your own home. Some sellers do very well buying products at garage sales, estate sales, flea markets and used book stores.

Vintage and antique items do very well on eBay.

If you choose this avenue to find product, remember you make money when you buy the items for resale on eBay. This might sound strange, but it makes perfect sense if you understand what I mean. When you purchase items to resale on eBay, you must buy them at a low enough price to make a decent profit. Be sure you are getting a great deal on vintage & antique items. Also, check out eBay to verify that the items you want to buy actually sell for a profit on eBay. There is nothing worse than buying something at a garage sale, only to find no one wants to bid for it on eBay. In other words, do your homework before you go. Check out what's hot on eBay.

Finally, you buy in bulk and reduce the amount of time you spend writing your auction listings. You may find items at dollar stores, going out of business sales and discount stores.

My favorite way to get bulk products for eBay selling is from drop shippers or wholesale distributors. When you list household items, vintage items or antiques, you must write a new listing every time you put an item on eBay. Once you do this for a few months, you will see how time consuming this is. I'm sure you will be looking for a new way to source products in your eBay business. Research what is selling well on eBay and start looking for drop ship and wholesale distributors in that industry. Drop shippers are companies that will ship your items to your customers directly from their warehouse. In other words, you do not have to inventory product from drop ship companies. You simply process the order through eBay and Paypal. Once you receive your money, you order the item from the drop shipper and he will send it to your customer. What a slick deal.

Wholesale distributors require you to purchase a minimum amount of product for your inventory. You will stock the inventory yourself, either in the garage, basement or a storage unit. When you complete an auction on eBay, you pull the item from your inventory and ship it to your customer. It's quite simple, too. If you are just getting started with eBay, I suggest selling stuff around your house. Then, I highly recommend finding wholesale and drop ship companies to build your eBay business. You can use the same listing over & over again. Once you test your listing for each item, you simply "wash, rinse and repeat".