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Thread: Making money on eBay...
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11-01-2002, 09:36 PM #1Web Hosting Guru
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Making money on eBay...
Okay, heres the deal...
Im sure many of you have recieved spam and seen crap on how to "strike it rich" on ebay. I am a very skeptical person, especially when it comes to stuff like this...Ive done some searching and read some sites. Basically everyone is selling "books" or "packages" on how to make cash on ebay.
At first I had always thought this was mostly bogus, that maybe you can make a little cash but its not worth the work. Aparently this is wrong though. I finally gave in when I actually met somone who lives across the hall from a friend of mine in the dorms at my college. He just buys stuff for low/wholesale from his "connections" and sells it on ebay. Now okay, so he does this, thats all fine and dandy...but I was really convinced when I saw his 2000 eclipse or whatever it was, and supposedly he has another car somewhere else. He has his own dorm room all to himself, two comps, his main system has three monitors, he has boxes full of ram...and boxes all over his room. In other words, he is REALLY doing the ebay trading thing, and he is making bank at it.
I havent talked to him yet, because my friend tells me he doesnt like to tell people stuff so he has less competition or something.
So basically my issue is this...I realize its possible to make money from ebay selling. The questions I have are...
These "packages" all these cheezy sites sell that make these get rich quick claims(which make me very skeptical about their sources and the quality of the material), are they legit? Are they any good? Are the wholesale sources they claim to have tons of included in the package ACTUALLY wholesale sources? Has anyone ever actually bought one of these how to make money on ebay packages?
Does anyone here do the whole ebay selling thing? If so can you give me a clue on how to get started, pretty please? As a fellow WHT member, I could be your apprentice!
I realize most people are hesitant to help somone get started in this area because it just means more competition. But maybe you could help one more person...or at least give me a clue?
I really just want to make money to fund my business ventures...thats the real reason im interested in this, I couldnt see myself actually doing it for a living like some do.
Thanks in advance,
-nocturnix
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11-01-2002, 10:29 PM #2Web Hosting Guru
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Oh another thing...
My friend also said that the guy goes to tradeshows and buys stuff super cheap there sells it on ebay and makes decent money from this method also.
Comdex is coming up soon, and i live 3 hours away from vegas!! Maybe I'll see if I can find somone to go with. Although I'm not sure how getting the cheap stuff works. I hear people selling stuff from comdex on ebay...
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...t=ebay+selling
Can you just buy stuff right there from booths at super cheap prices, or are they talking about selling their free tshirts and junk like that? Anyone know how this works?
P.S. If anyone from northern arizona is planning to go, email me
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11-01-2002, 10:47 PM #3Web Hosting Master
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Yeah you can make some money on ebay. I have an audio CD collection of over 100 cds, and last summer I burned copies of about half of my CDs, then sold the originals on eBay. Most of the CDs sold for 5-12 dollars. Some CDs were even old!! So after shipping they were going for close to store price. *shrug* put money in my pocket
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11-01-2002, 10:53 PM #4Web Hosting Master
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Think this through a bit before you go spending any money on 'cheap stuff'. Decide what you want to sell, research the market, and make sure you know what prices really are cheap.
Selling on eBay is just like any other business. It's not as easy as it seems. You CAN make a living from it, but like anything else, you have to go at it in an orderly, well-planned fashion, or it won't work.
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11-01-2002, 11:00 PM #5Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by nocturnix123
Oh another thing...
My friend also said that the guy goes to tradeshows and buys stuff super cheap there sells it on ebay and makes decent money from this method also.
Comdex is coming up soon, and i live 3 hours away from vegas!! Maybe I'll see if I can find somone to go with. Although I'm not sure how getting the cheap stuff works. I hear people selling stuff from comdex on ebay...
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...t=ebay+selling
Can you just buy stuff right there from booths at super cheap prices, or are they talking about selling their free tshirts and junk like that? Anyone know how this works?
P.S. If anyone from northern arizona is planning to go, email me-Robert Norton
www.SophMedia.com
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11-01-2002, 11:18 PM #6Web Hosting Guru
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Originally posted by lightnin
Think this through a bit before you go spending any money on 'cheap stuff'. Decide what you want to sell, research the market, and make sure you know what prices really are cheap.
Selling on eBay is just like any other business. It's not as easy as it seems. You CAN make a living from it, but like anything else, you have to go at it in an orderly, well-planned fashion, or it won't work.
Thanks for the advice, but Ive already given it some thought. I know a decent amount about technology prices, and i know how to research prices if needed. Basically all research regarding prices is pretty easy to do over the net.
And I also realize its not easy...the main problem I see is having to constantly recieve and send boxes of crap...this is the only concern I have, as I dont currently own a vehicle and live in an apartment with limited room.
The real issue for me is how people get super low prices, sell it for still a decent price on ebay, and make money at it. They must be getting some insane low prices. And I realize it would probably make more sense for me to deal in more expensive items so I can make larger marginal profits.
I'm just looking for some people who have experience with this sort of thing that can give me some leads/advice.
-nocturnix
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11-02-2002, 04:31 AM #7Web Hosting Master
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The thing with selling on eBay is, if you find a product and put it up for sale, you'll notice by the next hour, there are like 50 others that are selling the exact same product for less.
It's very hard to compete on eBay.
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11-02-2002, 04:47 AM #8Aspiring Evangelist
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I used to do some selling on eBay. There are definitely ways to make a profit. You need to find cheap products that are in demand. Demand drives an auction Not easy to do but when you find a golden product, it is golden! I hit the cellular antenna booster craze early on and made a good chunk on that. Don't be shy, email some of the others who are selling products similar to theirs and ask them questions.
If you do enough volume, FedEx or UPS will come pick up your packages for you. USPS already does:-p (Don't you have a mail"person"?) If you go USPS... get a stamps.com account, and know when your mail delivery time is so you can have your packages picked up.
Another essential is organization. I used a piece of software called Auction Commander. It is a HUGE time saver! If you don't have some sort of software automation, you won't be able to compete on a big scale. A few auctions quickly become tedious to manage without a system. The URL to the website is http://www.auctioncommander.com.
It can certainly be very exciting, if you have the time and patience for it, give it a shot.Jordan Bouvier
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11-02-2002, 04:48 AM #9Aspiring Evangelist
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Oh, by the way, if you have a good amount to invest you could consider purchasing in bulk. A good place to start is globalsources.com.
Jordan Bouvier
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11-02-2002, 06:10 AM #10Account Suspended
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An idea I had that I'm quite sure would work is selling cars on eBay for used car lots.
Simply go around and tell car dealers you'll sell off some of their cars. Do some research and find the cars that sell better on eBay, and target lots with those. Ask the car dealers to pay you as much commision as they pay their sales people. I also spoke with some local used dealerships and it seemed most of them were selling 500+ cars a year. I went on eBay and looked at some of the sellers, and many of them have sold 3000+ cars in less than a year. I'm sure the cars go cheaper on eBay, so you'll have to convince the dealerships you'll sell 100 cars at lower prices, than the typical sales person selling 10 cars at high prices.
My numbers may be a little off, but could be an idea worth going with. You could have a design made for all of your auctions, and simply plugin the pictures. The main thing with selling cars on eBay (from what I read) is you have to be very detailed, and it really doesn't seem the sellers are really going to great lengths doing this.
Why not take a video camera and take it inside and all around the car? That would be much better than simply taking pictures. If you don't want to go that far, many people like to hear a car run before they buy it, so tape record the engine.
There is a $40 listing fee, and a $50 fee for every car sold, but as you notice on most dealership listings you'll see "Admin Fees passed to buyer". That simply means they are having the buyers pay for their advertising spot!
Just an idea, but a typical auction last 7 days (I think). In my research I found most used car dealerships pay around $100-$200/car. List 50 cars, and at the end of the 7 days you sell 15, thats 1500 bucks in 7 days, and theres a lot of room to expand with this.
Damn-- I'm really thinking of going forward with this idea again
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11-02-2002, 06:17 AM #11Account Suspended
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Another thing, the great part about this idea (aside from the potential revenue), you don't have to worry about shipping beany babies and other junk. You simply point the buyer to the car dealership, and have them arrange pick up through them.
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11-02-2002, 06:52 AM #12Web Hosting Guru
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I had a similar idea about 4 years ago...before the internet was a "mass marketplace" I was at a car rally. There were tons of people selling their fixed up fancy cars. I thought, If i had a digital camera(which were rare at the time), and I could take pics of each car and charge them a fee to list them on the web, I could make some serious cash. Anyways I was like 14 or so at the time, and I missed out on the opportunity. Everyone seems to think that the tech stock craze is over. And yes, the huge "craze" as it was IS over. BUT, there is still money to be made on the web, in more ways than one. You just need to be creative.
Anyways, im drunk...but the topic of this discussion is making $$ on ebay. So lets get back on track...somone must have had experience with making cash from selling cheap tech stuff, or anything for that matter, on ebay. What are the sources....clue me in!
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11-02-2002, 03:26 PM #13ex-Aussie
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Originally posted by nocturnix123
Anyways, im drunk...but the topic of this discussion is making $$ on ebay. So lets get back on track...
Seriously though, I've been looking about a little lately and it seems an idea that's currently doing the rounds is combining E-Bay with dropshippers. You just kind of stand in the middle and take the profit. I know very little about it, but you might want to check around in that direction.
How legit the whole drop shipping industry is, is open to serious question. There seems to be a lot of people selling 'e-books' on the subject which is usually a very good indication there are shifty people out there
Greg MooreLast edited by akashik; 11-02-2002 at 04:09 PM.
Former Webhost... now, just a guy.
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11-02-2002, 04:04 PM #14Web Hosting Guru
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ahhh yes, you are right on akashik! I fergot to mention the dropship thing. Basically from what I understand is, you sell the stuff, then after its sold on ebay, you buy it from the dropship source and they ship it to whomever you want. So you maintain no inventory and dont even have to touch the item. And yes, I saw this on one of those ebook sites. It makes me very tempted to purchase one of these ebook packages, but ive always stayed away from things like these. They also promise 100% money back guarantee if you dont make $500 in the first 30 days.
My origional purpose for this post was to try and find somone whos actually purchased one of these packages.
Do you guys think I should just give in and buy the damn thing? The worst that can happen is I lose $25. The problem is I'm a starving college student with no job; $25 means beer money for 2 weeks!
I'm very tempted to do it right now...
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11-02-2002, 04:14 PM #15ex-Aussie
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Originally posted by nocturnix123
The worst that can happen is I lose $25. The problem is I'm a starving college student with no job; $25 means beer money for 2 weeks!
Personally I'd try to look around a bit more to see if there's any substantial information online for free - serious research and development at decent business inforamtion sites etc...
The whole drop shipping industry from what I saw of it a year or so ago when I was poking around smelled of 'cloak and dagger' at every turn. I'm of the opinion that if information isn't given freely about an industry, then there's something wrong with it.
Greg MooreFormer Webhost... now, just a guy.
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11-02-2002, 04:25 PM #16Web Hosting Guru
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Hmm, good point..s heheh, I'll have a look.
Thanks,
I was about this | | close to buying my first ebook trash!
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11-02-2002, 05:11 PM #17Web Hosting Guru
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Well ive found some dropship sites...but they all sell crap it looks like. I wonder if there are any that sell high quality merchandise.
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11-02-2002, 05:55 PM #18Aspiring Evangelist
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I was a member of a dropship site for a short time. I tried to order a test item from them and after 2-3 weeks of waiting, I emailed them and they said they were out of stock. I decided never to deal with them again.
The company that advertises on TV (SMC) seems to be pretty legit but there is a large start up fee.Jordan Bouvier
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11-02-2002, 06:37 PM #19Web Hosting Master
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Money can be made, but not get rich quick
There are many wholesalers as well as drop-shippers with quality products. In two years on Ebay while offering a 30 day guarantee, I have had only one item returned because the recipient didn't like it.
As to SMC's start up rate, find an existing SMC wholesaler to start with...try a few items...see how you like things.
Always good to try just a few of each type of product...see what the market is like. Some things will really surprise you.
Yes, many others will probably sell the same products. It hurts some, but doesn't keep you from selling.
Also, Ebay can be a good way to build a customer base and/or get people to visit a site.
As to the spam offers you receive, I would say 95% are useless. However, that other 5% may, in-fact, offer you something worthwhile.
As to E-Books, I use them to promote certain other sites and somewhat like a special for my customers. I can't bring myself to charge what some charge for really weak products. However, some ebooks are actually quite good.
Dont' expect to make huge amounts on each Ebay sale. But, if you find something that makes you $10-15 per sale, understand you just have to duplicate that say 500 times and all of a sudden it becomes quite worthwhile.
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11-02-2002, 07:57 PM #20Web Hosting Guru
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Hmm, thanks incognito. Do you have any links to trustworthy dropship/wholesale sites?
I found this site...it actually looks like a legit directory of dropshippers/wholesalers...
http://198.65.239.163/Main/Source.htm
Check it out and tell me what you think!
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11-02-2002, 08:28 PM #21Web Hosting Guru
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Okay i just talked to a trusted friend, who said he once did some ebay selling. He would buy parts from a guy who bought networking equipment off of bankrupt companies. My friend says he made about $100-200 off each sale.
But he lost his contact because the guy went to jail for tax evation or something.
Does anyone know anything about what happens when a larger company goes bankrupt? He says he thinks another company comes in to liquidate everything...like a liquidation company...then they sell the stuff off as a package or something. What is this "liquidation" type company called? A liquidation company? heheh, anyone know how these things work? My friend says he's willing to go in with me if we can find a situation like this.
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11-02-2002, 08:41 PM #22
Yes, if a company goes bankrupt the bank or other people who a bankrupt company owes money to acquire the companies assets. Those are then sold off. However, make note that you just went from talking about selling cheap items to selling things that may cost you a good deal of money to buy... after all it takes money to make money and at dot bomb auctions you can get things cheap, but to get the really good stuff cheap you usualy have to buy a lot to make it worth while.
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11-02-2002, 09:27 PM #23Web Hosting Master
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Hi nocturnix As you probably already know, I have sold many domains on eBay
Also sold and bought used hardware, comics etc. I don't do it full time obviously.
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11-02-2002, 10:12 PM #24Web Hosting Guru
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Originally posted by DanielP
Yes, if a company goes bankrupt the bank or other people who a bankrupt company owes money to acquire the companies assets. Those are then sold off. However, make note that you just went from talking about selling cheap items to selling things that may cost you a good deal of money to buy... after all it takes money to make money and at dot bomb auctions you can get things cheap, but to get the really good stuff cheap you usualy have to buy a lot to make it worth while.
How do you find dot bomb auctions? I live near phoenix, and supposedly thats where my friends old connection got his stuff.
Timechange - yes I remember I'll contact you.
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11-03-2002, 03:24 AM #25Web Hosting Master
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Well, I still sell on eBay for pocket-change
I would advise against the car idea, though. On the Powersellers board you hear a lot of crap - the amount of non-paying bidder is ridiculous recently. One guy chalked up $1500 in listing fees alone when he got burnt by a spat of non-paying bidders. Not worth the time at all, it seems.
I won't recommend ebooks, since a large number of them are just repeats of each other.
You could read through the newsletter archives for this site - I found a few gems of advice there: http://www.internetmarketingtips.com/
Other than that - dropshippers - there are tons of them out there, but with the seasonal rush approaching, expect to see a lot of them running out of stock, leaving your bidders high and dry and landing YOU in trouble for being unable to deliver the goods.
4 years on eBay lets you learn a lot...