Posts Tagged ebay + drop shipping
Are Ecommerce Websites Sold on eBay Legitimate?
Posted by Wholesale News in Ebay, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on September 1st, 2009
People who are searching for the perfect startup company they can handle from their house might be confronted with a real concern: are ecommerce websites sold on eBay legit? This concern is out there since there exist literally hundreds of tales regarding fake auctions and swindlers on eBay. A main issue is by doing business with someone you don’t know and can’t even see, you have no way of knowing if that person is on the up and up or just out to take your cash.
Instead of taking chances of learning whether are ecommerce websites sold on eBay legit with an unknown entity on the web, it might be better to find a verifiable online source of revenue. A fast-growing technique is to locate the best drop shipping business that services your state and take advantage of them to earn a steady paycheck right from your house.
Indeed, a lot of the best drop shipping companies have a link that you can post that will take you to their business site and decrease your workload even more in a field that is pretty effective as it is.
Your ecommerce company can be up and running on eBay in no time by accessing a wholesale business that provides a drop shipping component. You will operate your eBay company just as millions of other do, but unlike them you don’t have to maintain an inventory. The best way to look at a drop shipper is as an off site storage unit for your products that you use to create greater revenue.
It’s well-known that eBay sellers believe that the worst aspect of selling is shipping their products, but by employing the best drop shipping service available to you, you won’t have to be burdered with the drawn-out series of actions required to package, label, and mail your items once they sell.
If you blindly buy an ecommerce business directly from an eBay seller, you cannot verify that all aspects of starting an online business will be included in your package, which can seriously harm your startup company financially and logistically. Besides, the ecommerce package from an unknown source may not be individualized enough to fit into your company’s scheme and thus, might cause your company to falter or even fail due to many different things.
By employing a drop shipper, you can bypass a lot of those concerns. Since you don’t have inventory, you can stop fretting over a place to put it and concentrate on running the company via an online coneection. You won’t be expected to have a lot of capital to initially buy inventory and if your company expands, you won’t need to fret about locating additional space. Rather than continue to wonder are ecommerce websites sold on eBay legit, simply redirect your focus to locating the best drop shipping company available and get your business up and running right away. You could even have your company in place within 24 hours and might have a positive income shortly thereafter.
Inside the mind of Ebay Competitors
Posted by Wholesale News in Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on August 28th, 2009
Are you using endless hours trying to find out what the new hot product is? Turn to eBay and see what your competitors are selling! eBay’s user friendly set of tools are right at your finger tips, here to help you research the hottest new products that you need in your eBay store. This makes it easy for you to figure out fair and competitive prices that will keep your customers coming back for more, and even referring their friends to you. What most sellers do not realize is that gaining the upper hand is essential to seeing your profits climb high above that of your competitors. Using all of the resources at your disposal is the corner stone to your success as a eBay seller.
Studying the techniques of others, like how they are able to make their listings draw attention. Play around with your listing’s wording and layout make your listing shine above the rest. Take what you’ve seen and make it fresh; this may be just what you need to jump-start your business and get it to rake in the cash.
Your competitors might be more familiar with the eBay interface than you are, they might have had their eBay store for years. But don’t let that dark cloud of despair loom overhead, get them out of the limelight by making it your goal to shine brighter than they do! Searching related listings to find out more about your own product is an ideal way of discovering all the little intricacies of the products you’re selling. Don’t take your product for granted; when you observe similar listings you may be surprised to find something you’ve never seen before.
One avenue that you may want to look into is a decent wholesaler that offers certain products your potential customers may be interested in buying. Be sure that your item is something you will be happy selling and not just something you think is going to be popular and easy to move.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to tell whether or not your competitors on eBay are also using wholesale products. Drop Shippers are vital to many wholesalers who need these drop shippers to advertise and sell their products for them. This is beneficial for both parties, as the drop shipper doesn’t have to store or ship any products themselves. Most of the expenses for this service are by far a worthy investment on your part, because it makes your life so much easier. Posting wholesale items is hands down the best way to make really good money on eBay. Don’t go it alone when you start your business because you’ll want to reserve your time and energy for big problems; hire someone else to keep your business running smoothly while you tend to major issues.
Words are the key to the success of your eBay competitors so be sure to take note of their key words. You want to try to get as much traffic generated to your listing as much as possible, and to do this you’ll want to use as many key words as you can. Ebay is the top site on the net to find items that you cannot find anywhere else, and customers search for these items with keywords. These keywords are what you need in your product titles and descriptions if you intend to get people looking at your products.
Getting into the mind of your eBay competition and using the wholesale posting technique are sure-fire methods to eBay success.
A Solid Return Procedure is an Advantage on eBay.
Posted by Wholesale News in Ebay, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on August 28th, 2009
A couple of years ago, eBay polled buyers on their site to learn what makes them select one seller over another. Over 20% of the buyers polled chose not to select a certain seller due to the fact that a good return policy was not available for a stated item.
This survey indicates that if you as an eBay seller do not specify a good return policy in your listings you can figure on your auctions to be over 20% less likely to sell than sellers with a good return policy.
eBay shoppers want to believe they are absolutely secure when they go to buy something over the Internet. Buyers are worried that they will either not receive the item they purchased at all, it will vary significantly from what they wanted, or it will be of poor quality. As with all other transactions, shoppers need to believe they are getting quality for their cash and if it turns out they don’t receive what they wanted, they need to have a means for recourse.
Buy adding a good return policy to your eBay listings, you are not only guarding your online auction company, but also providing eBay shoppers with the safety they seek. Many eBay companies are using a dropshipper, so they do not understand how to add a return policy to their listings since the items are not actually originating with the sellers themselves. The following statements offer some suggestions on how to add a good return policy to your auctions.
Lay out a time frame in which you will accept returns. Many store fronts offer one month, which is acceptable. This allows for plenty of leeway for your purchaser to inspect the product and return it to you if they are not happy with it. You should also be using a dropshipper that has a corresponding return policy of their own, and that they contact you when a buyer has shipped a product back to them so you can offer the buyer an online credit.
Your return policy should also have a few provisions and stipulations spelled out. Ensure that the buyer understands that the item must be shipped back to the dropshipper in the original condition in which it left, meaning it should be in the same box and unused. You can refuse the return or give back only a portion of the payment if the buyer broke the product.
One way to simplify your return policy is to basically use the same terms and conditions of the drop shipper that you employ. By copying their rules and regulations, you should be positive that you will get your money back so that you can give your buyer’s money back. Also follow your drop shipper’s lead in providing a money back promise in that it will fill your buyers with assurance that their transaction is valid, and perhaps you will be able to capitalize on the 20 plus percent of buyers who have been skipping your listings.
Here is how the drop shipping process works for Ebay sellers
Posted by Bob in Drop Shipping, Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 25th, 2009
If you’re like many of the successful Ebay entrepreneurs out there, chances are you happened into the business quite by accident. Perhaps you found an item in your attic that sold for more than you thought it was worth, and decided to hit every rummage sale in the state until you found every last one of them and sold them for a profit. At some point, however, if your business is going to grow, you should consider drop shipping. Drop shipping is one of the best ways for you to expand your Ebay business.
Here is how the drop shipping process works for Ebay sellers. First, you place an ad on Ebay for an item that you don’t have, but that you can get from the drop shipper. Your Ebay buyer then buys the item, sending you the money for the item and the shipping costs. You then take a portion of that payment and send it to your drop ship wholesale supplier. The supplier charges you wholesale prices, allowing you a profit on the item. Finally, the supplier will ship the product directly to your Ebay buyer.
When this process works correctly, drop shipping can be a dream business. You have no overhead, because you have no inventory, storefront or shipping costs to bother with. You merely accept payments, and then send a portion of those payments off to the supplier, and you get to keep the difference between the two as your profit. As you can see, this is quite a bit easier than scouring every garage sale and flea market within 100 miles to find the perfect Ebay item.
However, in the real world, things are almost never quite that simple. There are pitfalls to avoid, and regular hiccups that can interrupt the flow of your Ebay business. Being ready for these problems before they actually arise will help you to have a distinct advantage when the time comes, however.
You can do this, at least in part, by treating your Ebay drop shipping business like a business. Follow up with your customers, for example, to make sure that they’re satisfied with the products they receive. You should also try to be constantly aware of your drop ship wholesaler’s supply of products. There is nothing worse than collecting payment for a product only to find that your supplier is out of stock.
If you implement it right, drop shipping can be a tremendous boon to your Ebay business.
Ebay Drop Shipping Success - Pay Attention to Your Suppliers
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 25th, 2009
If you have a business on Ebay, you may be able to increase your profits and expand your business by using wholesale suppliers. Many wholesale suppliers will drop ship products for you, allowing you to focus on what you do best: getting people to bid on your Ebay auctions. Still, there are some important things to keep in mind if you’re going to successfully integrate wholesale suppliers into your Ebay Business:
First of all, you need to keep a close eye on what your fulfillment times look like. Don’t be afraid to send your customers emails asking them for feedback, or even filling out some sort of customer survey regarding the time it took to fulfill their order. If your orders are taking longer than you think they should take to get to your customers, chances are you’ll hear back pretty quickly. Because your feedback score, and the reputation of your Ebay business rely so solidly on shipping issues, this is key. Ebay and online customers often expect better service in terms of shipments, and if your shipments are regularly being delayed you’re going to have payment reversals and negative feedback that are going to severely hurt your business in the long run.
You also want to keep a close eye on stock. It helps, in this regard, to choose a drop ship wholesale supplier that allows you access to stock level information. When you’re selling items on Ebay, there is a time delay between the time you advertise the item and the time you receive payment for the item, and when you order it from your wholesale supplier. If your supplier runs out of the particular product you’re looking for in that time, you’re going to find yourself having to issue refunds and risk negative feedback. Remember, too, that Ebay sales are a contract. You’re not allowed to cancel an Ebay sale due to a product being unavailable. In fact, if you can’t provide a product to a customer, the buyer can petition Ebay to give you a seller nonperformance violation. When you get a certain number of these, Ebay will shut down your seller account.
You also need to be prepared to mediate returns. If a customer isn’t satisfied with the exchange or return process, you risk negative feedback that can hurt future sales. In some ways, you may wind up having to mediate the return process.
Make Money Drop Shipping Using Ebay
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Ebay on June 25th, 2009
Drop shipping is one of the best ways to make money on Ebay. Using drop shipping, you can list an item for sale that you don’t already have. Once you’ve sold the item and collected payment, you simply take a portion of that payment and send it to your wholesale drop ship supplier. Whatever is left over is yours to keep, and you don’t need to hassle with things like shipping costs or packing.
Still, there are some important things to consider when you’re using drop ship wholesale suppliers on Ebay. Keep these three things in mind at all times:
Understand the quality of the product. It’s important that you choose a wholesale supplier who won’t just randomly switch inventory or manufacturers without letting you know. This allows you to be sure that the product you’re selling to your customer is the product that they will actually get. If your product varies from the Ebay listing, you run the risk of negative feedback which will harm your Ebay business over the long haul.
Understand customer expectations. For whatever reason, people that buy products on Ebay and online tend to have much higher expectations that people that buy products in other sorts of direct marketing arrangements. Buyers expect you to offer a photograph of the product, as well as a specific list of features. When they receive the item, they expect it to look exactly like it does in the Ebay auction. If it doesn’t look the same, they probably won’t be satisfied. Here again, you run the risk of getting negative feedback on your Ebay seller account.
Finally, don’t forget that auctions are auctions. The fact of the matter is that, when you auction an item on Ebay, you’re expected to agree to sell the item regardless of the closing price. This means that, if you’re not careful, you can wind up selling an item on Ebay that actually sells below your own costs.
There are a couple of ways to avoid this happening, of course. First of all, you can choose to only list fixed price or “Buy It Now” auctions. This means that your auctions are more like catalog listings, with a set price no matter who buys it. Another option is to set a higher minimum bid, so that the item doesn’t sell for less than what you’ll pay for it.
Ultimately, making sure your feedback stays high and that you follow all Ebay policies is key to your business’ success.
eBay Newbies? Simple Avoidable Mistakes
Posted by Andrea in Ebay, Home Based Business on June 15th, 2009
Selling on eBay is the quickest business prospect out there. Within 15-30 minutes you can have a business up and running, but the ease of setup often leads sellers astray and they make serious mistakes that can zap their profits in an instant.
Scrolling through eBay I often see super elaborate listings for items that are well under $100. The amount of money that is spent on the extra features added to an auction can quickly zap profits. Do you want your auction featured? Sure you can have it but it will cost you. Do you want to include several pictures? Sure you can add 10 pictures but each will cost you. You want a reserve price? Okay, but it will cost you. Do you see a theme here?
Every seller should head into an auction with a game plan. For any item that is not going to fetch over $500 you should keep your auction as simple as possible. One photo and a quick run down of what you are selling will do just fine. When you are placing a big ticket item on the auction block then you can go all out, but for a low price auction keep it simple.
A lot of eBay users still don’t use their own photos. They take stock photos of the item in question and then feel the need to state “this is a stock photo” in their auction. People want to see a picture of the product they will be buying especially if it is a used or refurbished product. A cheap digital camera is all that is needed. The pictures need not be fancy; they just have to be there. People have a hard time trusting a seller if none of their auctions have real pictures attached to them. Honestly a seller who can’t show me a real picture of the product I’m bidding on jumps out as a “scammer” to me.
Most eBay sellers don’t stop to do their research before listing an auction. Before setting out on selling an item it is important to research the selling history of it. Not only can it help to figure out a “buy it now” price but it can also help a seller gauge how long the auction should be. A longer auction will get more hits which are better for an item that is not in demand or not greatly represented on the web site. A shorter auction is better for a hot item as it will give buyers a quick chance to grab what they want
Some, not all, but some eBay sellers are quick to please their clients when they first get on the site. While “pleasing” your customers is the right attitude bending over backwards for people is a bad idea. I’ve seen products listed way under value, I’ve known sellers who all but give away massive amounts of extras or upgrade shipping for every single person. While there is nothing wrong with being nice, nice doesn’t do it in business.
While eBay is an awesome avenue for a business it also has its problems and one of its biggest pros and cons is the ability to quickly open a storefront. It is great because it is easy but it’s bad because it allows people who are not ready for the big league to get off and running; often dooming a business before it starts.
Verify Wholesalers and Drop Shippers with Simple Online Tools
Posted by Andrea in Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on June 12th, 2009
Research is the corner stone of good business. Every business owner should know how to research extensively before they go ahead and open up shop. Researching a drop shipper or a wholesaler is the only way you will get out of the process of finding one without being scammed for money, sadly.
Before you decide on a drop shipper or a wholesaler gather a list of prospects and take to Google. Search the names of the companies first and foremost. A bad company will likely have complaints lodged against them somewhere on the internet. Add in the word “scam” to the end of the business name and see if anything comes up. If nothing comes up you might have a decent company so put it on a short list. Any company that comes up with more than one complaint should probably be axed from your list.
Once you have a short list check the phone numbers and contact information. The contact information should be directly linked to the company name. Look for e-mail address that end in @companyname.com or @companyname.net. These e-mail address endings mean that that company has it’s own e-mail provider or entity. It is a very good sign of a legitimate business. A Gmail account or a Hotmail account means your mail is going to a personal e-mail address. It is a sign of a bad business.
Once you have that all figured out further check out the companies using Mapquest or Google Earth. If you are familiar with the area you should be able to tell whether or not the business is in a commercial part of a town. If you are not familiar with the company you can use Google Earth to hone in on the address. You want to see a commercial district or a warehouse district. If you hone in on an area that looks completely residential or rural you are probably looking at a scam. A wholesaler or a drop shipper will not be working out of a residential home or a residential area if they are legitimate. You want to see a big building, normally, the uglier the building the better in this case.
Call and speak to someone directly when you think you’ve found a good company. Consider the time zone you are calling and call during their regular business hours. Between 10am-4pm should be the time frame you are aiming for. Someone should be there to answer your phone call at that time. If no one picks up you need to further investigate the company.
Competitive Strategies for Ebay Sellers
Posted by Andrea in Ebay, Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 11th, 2009
Dealing with competition on eBay is one of those things that you will never avoid, but a small business can flourish on the mega-auction website as long as you are willing to work with the competition rather than against it.
Competitors can actually be a good thing; seriously, they help us know what the price of an item is and how we can work around it to get the customer.
Pricing an item on eBay is fairly simple. Before you even begin your own auction listing go back and use the advanced setting to see what the item has sold for in the past. You can do this by doing an advance search and searching for closed bids only. You will see a list of items that have sold recently that are just like yours. You will want to look at the bidding history of those auctions as well.
Once you have an idea of what the items has sold for you can go back and search for the products that are still open. You will see how many similar products are out there and how they are moving. Research is always an important part of the game.
When you begin your auction listing consider what you can offer that other buyers are not offering. One big issue with eBay, in my opinion, is the insane shipping prices that some sellers offer. I tend to keep shipping low ($3.00-$10.00 depending on the item) or offer free shipping. Free shipping will garner a great deal of attention and more people will bid on your auction as shipping costs are considered “added” expenses to many bidders. When there is no shipping cost to calculate bidders are more likely to place a bid and go higher on their price than they would if they had to calculate shipping into the equation.
I have one wholesale sneaker seller that I constantly buy from on eBay. I buy from that company because there is a free shipping policy. I like to know my money is going directly to the product and not to overzealous shipping and handling fees. I know I am not alone in that either.
I have also found that auctions need to correct amount of exposure time to do well on eBay. I’ve seen many sellers fall victim to setting their auction time too low. If you offer a 3 day auction the odds of many people seeing it are low. Setting an auction at 7 days gives it a much longer exposure time.
The same can be said for an over infiltrated market. Around Christmas time this year a great deal of people were selling Wiis on eBay. A lot of the auctions never made it to the first page. You need to time your auction correctly so it won’t be ending at the same time as other auctions. If 30 other auctions are ending within 10 minutes of your auction the odds of your listing getting to the front page is slim and let us be honest here, most people never click past the first page.
An eBay business is a great way to make money and it can be extremely successful but you know how to use your competition and time your listings accordingly for the business to really take off. Many don’t do well on eBay because they don’t follow some basic logic rules.
How to Make the Move from Brick and Mortar to the Web
Posted by Wholesale News in Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 9th, 2009
One of the myths of modern business is that there are essentially two types of businesses: brick and mortar businesses, and online businesses. Now, more than ever, traditional small businesses are expanding online, and finding that there are plenty of untapped markets available to them. At the same time, some businesses that have traditionally been online only have expanded into the brick and mortar world, as well.
Still, making the move from having a brick and mortar business to the web isn’t necessarily easy. There are some potentially serious roadblocks that you’ll face along the way, and if you’re not careful or not smart about it you can wind up investing a lot of time and money in an online presence only to find that it doesn’t contribute much to the bottom line. Just being on the web doesn’t guarantee success.
Here are some things that can improve your chances for success as you make the move from brick and mortar to the web:
Differentiate yourself from others. Whether it’s a price that no one can beat, a unique product or service offering, or stellar service, you need to have something that gives your business a competitive advantage. If you sell the same product for the same price as Amazon, you’re not going to have much business. It’s the same as offering the same product at the same price as Wal-Mart in your brick and mortar store.
Take extra care with shipping. You need to be upfront with your customers about how long it takes to ship a product. If it takes a week to get the product, pack it and then ship it, make sure the customer knows that up front. In addition, make sure that you don’t miss your shipping date.
Be patient. Just like it takes time to build a successful brick and mortar business, it takes time to become successful on the web. A user-friendly and attractive website combined with a competitive advantage and a handle on your shipping process doesn’t mean overnight success. It takes hard work and time to see your e-commerce revenue come in.
Doing these things doesn’t guarantee success. Many businesses that try to make the move from brick and mortar to the web find that, even years down the road, their business hasn’t substantially benefitted from trying to move to the web.
The good news is that doing business online doesn’t require you to have a real estate contract. In fact, many of the costs involved in starting an online business will have already been absorbed by the fact that you have a brick and mortar business. Moving to the web can be as inexpensive and simple as putting up a Yahoo! or eBay storefront, at least in the initial stages. In fact, depending on your type of business and your own comfort with technical procedures, you may not have to invest any money at all to make the move from brick and mortar to the web.
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